


Circe

by AsMuchAsIWish



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Alpha Bucky Barnes, Alpha Hulk (Marvel), Alpha Loki (Marvel), Alpha Natasha Romanoff, Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha Thor (Marvel), Alpha Tony Stark, Alpha Wade Wilson, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Darcy Lewis, BDSM, Beta Clint Barton, Beta Sam Wilson, Cheap Kidnappers, Cottagecore, Crack Treated Seriously, Daddy Kink, Dom/sub, Domestic Avengers, Eventual Smut, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Goddess Hecate, Hydra, Light Angst, M/M, Magic, Mental Health Issues, Mother Hen, Mother-Son Relationship, Multi, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Omega Darcy Lewis, Omega Peter Parker, Omega Verse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pack Bonding, Pack Dynamics, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Possessive Bucky Barnes, Possessive Hulk, Possessive Loki (Marvel), Possessive Sex, Possessive Steve Rogers, Possessive Thor (Marvel), Possessive Tony Stark, Protective Avengers, Protective Original Female Character, Slow Burn, Stubborn Steve Rogers, Stubborn Tony Stark, Superpowers, Winter Soldier Program, kidnapped avengers, long chapters, mercenary reader - Freeform, non-canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-23
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:54:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 96,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24871117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsMuchAsIWish/pseuds/AsMuchAsIWish
Summary: “I am Circe. I am the one saving your stupid hides from getting tortured more.” I walked forward, standing in front of the gun. “I owe you nothing. But after this, all of you owe me many favors. Now, I suggest you give me back my gun before I am pushed to take it from you.”Because Circe was the daughter of the Greek Goddess Hecate and a power-hungry HYDRA scientist, she has had a tough life. After many years of experiments were done in order for her to obtain powers, Circe finally presented. Unfortunately, she was an Omega, and her father allowed her Alpha guards to hurt her in every way possible to ensure the gain of powers. When she was older and had gained their trust, she vanished.When former-SHIELD Director, Nick Fury, enters a Mercenary Bar looking for the infamous assassin, Circe, she is taken aback by the job he assigns her: find and retrieve the kidnapped Avengers. She does so, of course, but at a price: the Avengers have taken a liking to her -- at least, most of them have. She is forced to work with them through numerous missions, trying to escape after every debriefing (to no avail).But the Avengers are confused: why can Circe not tell they are her soulmates?
Relationships: Avengers Team & Original Female Character(s), Avengers Team & Reader, Bruce Banner/Original Female Character(s), Clint Barton/Darcy Lewis/Natasha Romanov, Deadpool/Spiderman, James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), Loki (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Ned Leeds & Peter Parker & Original Female Character(s), Nick Fury & Original Female Character(s), Peter Parker & Original Female Character(s), Peter Parker/Wade Wilson, Pietro Maximoff/Original Female Character(s), Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s), Thor (Marvel)/Original Female Character(s), Tony Stark/Original Female Character(s), Wade Wilson & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 84
Kudos: 487





	1. "He'll Learn."

**Author's Note:**

> Doubt thou the stars are fire,  
> Doubt that the sun doth move,  
> Doubt truth to be a liar,  
> But never doubt that I love.
> 
> \-- Hamlet, William Shakespeare

The smell of the mercenary bar was gross. Body odor, cheap beer, and gunpowder ran rampant, and whenever I walked in, my stomach would curl with disgust. It was worse when Alpha, Beta, and Gamma scents ran amok -- my own Omega scent non-existent due to my specialized gel. My boss, Weasel, was always behind the counter, serving up the thugs and mercs with jokes and a smile, and our mutual friend, Wade, was always sitting at the bar to annoy him. Sometimes, though, Wade would be gone on a mission -- Deadpool always making a comeback in his red and black suit -- and it would be just Weasel and I tending to the customers until I found a mission of my own.

Today, though, the mission seemed to find me. 

The door to the merc bar was opened slowly and a newcomer came in, a bald man with an eyepatch. _Nick Fury._ His singular eye ran over the rambunctious group before landing on me. He moved to the bar, sitting down before me without breaking our eye contact.

“What can I get you?” I asked calmly, my royal blue hair almost falling in my face. 

“A shot of whiskey, if you have it,” he replied just as calmly, though his expression showed me how stressed he was. I nodded and turned around, grabbing the singular bottle of Jack Daniel’s on the shelf. Turning back to the former-Director of Shield, I grabbed a bigger shot glass, pouring it almost to the top. Pushing it in front of him, I remained there, screwing the lid back on.

“You look rather stressed, stranger,” I pointed out, watching as he drank a mouthful of the burning liquid. He sighed, nodding.

“This past week has been shitty,” he conceded, chugging the remaining bit. Setting the glass down, he looked at me. “I’m looking for someone. For a job.” I raised an eyebrow, nodding as I filled up his glass again.

“You’ve come to the right place, boss,” I said with a wide grin. “What’re you lookin’ for? Hacker? Bomber?” He smirked and shook his head in denial, taking a mouthful of his new whiskey. I hummed, pretending to think about it before I snapped my fingers and pointed at the slightly amused Director. “An Assassin.” He shrugged, setting his half-full glass down.

“It’s a mixture of those, I would think,” he said, glancing over at an eavesdropping Weasel. “It’s a private matter, and I cannot speak of it when there are spies that could hear it. This mission is on a strict need-to-know business.” I nodded, giving him an understanding smile. He took the last mouthful, gulping it down and reaching into his pocket to place down three one-hundred dollar bills. My eyes widened with surprise, Weasel fully turning to look at the man with shock. “In fact, I am looking for the best. One that, last time we met, tried to kill me. One named Circe.” I stiffened, looking back up at him to examine his face. Weasel reached under the bar and I raised my hand to him, stopping his movements. 

“You found her, boss,” I said calmly. “There is a room in the back. We can talk there.” He nodded and I put Jack Daniel’s back, leading him behind the bar and into the back room. Weasel gave me a look, but I shook my head -- I knew exactly who this man was, and he knew who I was. I opened the door, allowing him in first and closing the door after he was at the table. He sat down, grabbing a file from the safety of his leather trench coat. I sighed, sitting across from him at the table. “Nice to see you again, Fury.”

“Really?” Fury asked, a smirk on his face. “Last I remember, we didn’t part on good terms, Circe.” I shrugged.

“In my defense, I was left unsupervised with a broken mind.” He nodded.

“I know.” He put the file in front of him, my eyes catching sight of the SHIELD emblem. “I have done my research on you over the many years, Circe. Didn’t find much, I’ll admit that, but after Hydra fell, I found a lot more.” I stiffened at the name of the organization, my stoic but a frown tugging at my lips.

“And what did you find?”

“You were a part of the Winter Soldier Project,” he began, his face falling into a stoic expression as well. “But that only lasted a week, as they thought you were ready and you were given your first mission. When you failed, you never returned, and they have been tracking you since.” I cocked my head, a bitter smile crawling onto my face.

“Yes, you were my first and last mission from Hydra.” 

“What I found _more_ interesting, however,” he said, leaning forward, “was how you got to Hydra in the first place. Those files, unfortunately, were not intact. Care to elaborate?” He raised an eyebrow and my smile dropped to a smirk, a dark look overcoming my face.

“I am the by-product of a cruel Hydra scientist and the Greek Goddess, Hecate. One turned me into a science experiment, and the other didn’t care. I’ll let you decide which is which.” He remained impassive, and I continued. “Before the age of ten, I was taught how to wield weapons -- guns, swords, hammers, toothpicks, whatever -- and once ten hit, I was experimented on. They tried to give me powers, but they never managed to stick. When I turned sixteen, however, they succeeded and I gained the powers of regeneration (regrowing body parts), shapeshifting into animals, and invention. My brain began to run through ideas to invent things, and I had to hide it from Hydra. If they knew, then I would be forced to invent weapons of mass destruction for them. That is why they only knew about my shapeshifting. It was the lesser of the three evils I gained.” I took in a deep breath and leaned forward, sighing as I placed my arms on the table. “Soon, they began to notice I wasn’t aging, and they ran more blood tests. Apparently, as a demi-god, I age slower. I was born in 1955.” His eyebrow raised, and he looked at me with a hint of surprise. I let out a laugh, crossing my legs as I winked at the man. “Yeah, I know. I look like I could be twenty, at _most_ . Trust me, being sixty-two and looking this good is a _blessing_ . After I turned forty, they wanted to put me into the Winter Soldier program. I was there for a week, was given the serum and wiped. You were my first mission, March 1995. However, their wiping didn’t work, and I didn’t care enough to kill you, so I left. And, after I escaped that hellhole, my _oh-so-loving_ mother gave me the power over magic. She ‘waited until I was safe’ before she did so. I laughed in her face, the bitch.”

“That doesn’t explain the lack of information in their server,” he said after I didn’t continue. I shrugged, my arms crossing over my chest as if to deflect the questions.

“I hacked into their server five years after I left, March of 2000, and erased all of the information they had on me. Some of them noticed the information was gone and tried to find old notes, but I killed all of the scientists after I left -- including the sperm donor.” I gave the Director a toothy grin. “I’ve kept up with the news for the past seventeen years; made a name for myself as a hitwoman. I’ve also been keeping tabs on the Avengers and SHIELD. Sad to hear they were overrun with Hydra rats.” He nodded, opening the file.

“The Avengers are why I am here.”

“Oh?” I asked, curious and confused. “Last I heard, they were in New York, trying to stick together after their little Civil War. What happened, now?” He put down a picture of the former Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross.

“Thaddeus Ross was found guilty of pedophilia and sex trafficking. The rogue Avengers were able to figure out that he was using the Sokovia Accords as a gateway to curb mutant rights. The Supreme Court and the United Nations were not happy, and he was arrested.” He showed me another picture of a different man, a mousy looking fellow with kind eyes. “This is Everett Ross, no relation to the previous Ross. He is the new Secretary of State, and is the one who pardoned the Avengers.” I nodded, Fury grabbing another picture. “This is Chan Lee. He is a Hong-Kong billionaire that specializes in weapon making. He has been on the Avenger’s radar for months. Half of the Avengers went to bust a drop off location, led by Stark. Unfortunately, the movers were all former Winter Soldiers, and Stark’s team was captured.” I looked at the picture of the crime scene, Stark’s suit and multiple weapons laid on the ground -- broken debris that could only be smashed by the Hulk littering the area.

“Alright. Have the others searched for them?” Fury nodded, a disappointed look on his face.

“Unfortunately, they all went the second they heard about the issue -- even the reformed ones. It seems, though, that they found the base but were overrun by the men and alien tech.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair as he showed me another crime scene -- Captain America’s shield, a broken bow and numerous arrows, and guns littered the floor. 

“What do you want me to do?” 

“I want you to save them.” I looked sharply up at him, scoffing. 

“Fury, those soldiers defeated two super soldiers, two _demi-gods_ , a technical genius, and others with incredible abilities and skills. If they could not help themselves, what makes you think I can help them? I’m just one person.” He gave me a nonchalant look, staring me down.

“And an Omega.”

I froze, my body stiffening at the word. A snarl curled in my throat, and I pursed my lips to stifle it. No one knew I was an Omega -- other than Hydra, but I erased that info -- and I always updated my formulas and technology to ensure they never would. I had the gel that hid my scent, heat pills to dampen the heat-pains, nose purifiers that blocked everyone else’s scent when I was working, and I even invested in sex toys so that I wouldn’t have to deal with horny Alphas. And whenever I was asked, I either told people I was a Beta on the pill or shot them. No one has asked, though, in fifteen years. But how did this former Director know? I licked my lips, calming myself down. Fury sat there with his impassive face, a smirk falling onto his lips when I finally looked at him.

“How did you know?”

“All those years ago,” he began, the smug smirk annoying me, “you were about to start your heat. When you and I fought for those brief moments, I smelt the Omega on you. But you could feel the heat coming on, didn’t you? That’s why you left and did not kill me that day.” I scoffed, rolling my eyes at the Beta before me.

“Whatever.” I grabbed the file from him, overlooking the reports that laid within its folds. “Why do you think me being an Omega will do anything?” 

“I think it will calm the stupid, stubborn, and head-strong Alphas within the Avengers enough to listen to you.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Besides, you’re a demi-god, super soldier, and technical genius wrapped up with a pretty blue bow. I have no doubt that you could kill everyone there, grab the Avengers, and still have time for dinner.” I snickered, shaking my head and rolling my eyes.

“Glad you think my hair’s pretty.” He nodded to my rhetorical statement and I took in a deep breath, weighing my options. “Alright, so, who is it that I am grabbing? How many people do I gotta grab?” He leaned forward again, pulling out pictures of the Avengers and placing them before me.

“The main ones, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and Thor Odinson. Four of them are Alphas; Banner is a Gamma and Barton is a Beta. The Hulk’s an Alpha, so he will be easy for you to subdue.” The candid pictures of the original Avengers were on top of his pyramid. “Next is Colonel Rhodes, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, and Vision. All except Rhodes are Betas; Rhodes is a Gamma.” I nodded, narrowing in on their Avenger outfits. “And the last two are our... _reformed_ _villains_ , if you will. James ‘Bucky’ Barnes and Loki Odinson. Both Alphas.” 

“Ah, yes,” I muttered, looking at Barnes’ photo. “The Winter Soldier and the God of Mischief.” A smirk came to my lips. “I remember Barnes. He trained me when I was a child.” 

“He was in Wakanda for a couple of months. King T’Challa and Princess Shuri were able to piece his mind back together. He may remember you from the Hydra days, but he most likely won’t act on it.” I shrugged. 

“Won’t change anything either way.” I ran over the reports again before packing the pictures back into the file. “What is my time limit?”

“Stark’s group has been captured for five days; Rogers’ for three. It would be wise to get them back within the week. If there is an attack on our country while they are... _incapacitated_ , we may not survive it.” I scoffed at his dramatic words. 

“And what am I getting paid?” At this, Fury was silent. In fact, he looked highly uncomfortable, as if he didn’t want to pay me for my acceptance. I pursed my lips, narrowing my eyes slightly as I thought about it. “Since they are high-profile targets, I will ask for no less than a hundred dollar giftcard to Dutch Brothers and Starbucks -- each -- and a two hundred dollar giftcard to Olive Garden by tomorrow morning.” I head out my hand and Fury gave me the signature ‘are you fucking crazy’ look. I merely smiled. “It’s either that or three million dollars.” He sighed and immediately shook my hand.

“I’ll have someone drop them off sometime during the night,” Fury grumbled, standing up. “Thank you, Circe.” I nodded, leading him to the door and back into the noisy bar. 

“See ya later, boss.” He nodded at me and left the bar, his eye roaming over the crowd of thugs once before doing so. Wade was in front of me, immediately, and Weasel was standing next to me. 

“What’d the scary pirate say?” Weasel asked, glancing at the door as I poured myself a shot of whiskey. I shrugged nonchalantly, a smirk coming to my face as I looked between the two men, giggling. 

“Looks like I gotta rescue the boy scouts from their Camp Counselor.”

~+~+~+~+~+~

Fury had a low level agent bring me my gift cards three hours later, in the middle of the busy shift, and I was irrevocably happy. But after that, I was off for the rest of the week.

The first thing I did was research everything about Chan Lee. He was very well-known among the weapons community, and often held lavish parties. He ran the Lee Weapons factories in China -- the largest one near Beijing -- and side-lined as a professional sex-trafficker. There were rumors of his men searching for mutants, taking them from their homes and families so that they could be sold to the highest bidder. Ex-Secretary Ross was one of his happiest customers.

But Lee had one issue: he was too much like pre-Iron Man Tony Stark. And I knew how to take down a spoiled brat when I saw one. Next was researching the Avengers. I had a feeling Fury didn’t tell me something, but I couldn’t tell what. Wade and I patrolled around New York pretty well, but I went to Queens for a little re-con. That was where I overheard a young male complaining about a ‘Mr. Stark.’

“Ned,” the boy said, “he hasn’t been answering his phone for a week! And Happy won’t tell me anything, neither with Ms. Potts.” He was silent, as if listening to the other person. I slowly began climbing up the fire escape to the roof. “Yes, I know he’s probably just ignoring me, but why can’t they just tell me that?” I finally made it onto the roof, and my eyes landed on an irate Spiderman. “It’s just stressing me out, Ned. I can’t focus when he’s not calling me to yell at me for being stupid.” I smiled in amusement.

“Because he took all the stupid with him.” Spiderman whipped around, looking at me with widened spider-eyes. I put my hands up, my smile not fading as I took in the jumpy teen. “I didn’t know spiders are that jumpy.” 

“W-Well,” he began, stuttering and sounding sheepish, “I just...you know...you st-startled me.” He quieted, listening to the other end, and began muttering to ‘Ned.’ “Dude, there’s a _girl_ on the roof.” I took a step forward, watching as he sized me up but did not move. I took that as my cue to walk closer.

“Hi, Spidey,” I said, holding my hand out. “Name’s Circe.” He was silent.

“Like the witch from Odysseus?” Spidey asked, confused. I nodded, the boy reaching out to shake my hand once before letting go. “I-I’m Peter.” I nodded, processing the name.

“It’s nice to meet you, Petey.” He was silent, and I continued. “So, pardon my meme reference, but: _boy_ , who you talkin’ to?” Peter finally laughed, and I giggled, taking pride in it.

“My best friend, Ned.” He pointed to his ear. “I have him on bluetooth. He usually watches through cameras for me; finds people that I can save, others I can web up.” I gasped, impressed and slightly jealous.

“You got your own man in the chair?” He giggled adorably and nodded. “Oh, man! That’s pretty fancy. What the hell are you guys? Avengers?” Peter visibly straightened, crossing his arms and nodding his head in a brief and jerky nod.

“Mr. Stark recruited me to help when the Civil War was happening.” He was silent, a quiet voice hitting my ears. “Shut up, Ned, he did, too.” I raised my eyebrow, moving closer to the trusting Spider. He didn’t move, but seemed to twitch.

“What’d he say?” I leaned forward a bit, trying to hear the boy, but Peter laughed and I couldn’t hear anything. I smiled up at the Spider.

“He says that Mr. Stark didn’t actually make me an Avenger.” He put a hand on the back of his neck sheepishly. “Which...which is true, I guess. Mr. Stark really only needed me for a weekend, but he let me keep the suit.” His voice was gradually growing smaller. “He...He sometimes calls, you know. G-Gives me missions, though those usually come from Ned.” I nodded, straightening up and reaching out to place a comforting hand on the boy's arm.

“You got your own man in the chair,” I said firmly, “so you’re a fancy superhero in my book, anyday.” He laughed, a sort of lightly relieved one that made me want to hug him. “Are you patrolling, tonight?” I looked at my watch -- it was almost one in the morning, but it was a Friday night. It had only been two days since Fury gave me the mission.

“Y-Yeah. I usually patrol until four on weekends, but Ned doesn’t like it because he has to drink a lot of coffee. I don’t like doing it on weekdays.” He sounded young, so it was easy for me to deduce he was still in school. I doubted he wanted me to know that, though, so I stayed silent on the matter. “So, what are you doing here?” I shrugged. 

“Fury gave me a mission. I’m not supposed to discuss it.” He seemed to freeze.

“You got a mission? Are you an agent? Is it about the Avengers?” I shrugged, giving the stiff boy a teasing smile and walking over to the ledge.

“That depends.” I huffed as I sat down, my shiny boots glinting in the streetlights’ glow. “Are you going to tell me why you’re freaking out with your friend?” He didn’t say anything, and I could feel that he was hesitant to say anything. I patted the ledge next to me. “Come sit.” He pushed himself forward, sitting a foot away from me and looking out at the street.

“Mr. Stark…,” he began, trailing off as he glanced over at me. “Mr. Stark is my...mentor of sorts. He usually calls every other day, but something happened last week. I tried calling him, and he didn’t answer. And...I really need his help.” Peter sounded very crestfallen, and it made my Omega anxious. I reached out, grabbing his right hand to hold gently between my own.

“What happened, Petey?” I had doubts that he would tell me, and I watched as he looked down on the empty street. The building we sat on top of was an older one, condemned to be knocked down so the only beings inside were squatters on the first floor.

“M-My birthday,” he muttered. “My sixteenth.” 

“Ahh,” I hummed, nodding. Every child presents on their sixteenth birthday, though they can usually tell what they’ll be a week or so prior. Peter was a tiny male, and though he had lean muscles, I had a feeling it was of a lower rank. “You presented, finally. Must have been equally exciting and terrifying.” He scoffed, shrugging his shoulders.

“I didn’t get what I thought I would be.” His voice was deep and sounded resentful. “I didn’t want...I wanted to be-,” he cut himself off with a sigh and I squeezed his hand, taking a careful breath in. _Oh?_ It clicked. 

“Oh.” My eloquent words got another scoff out of him and he moved his hand away from mine, staring harder at the desolate street before us.

“Yeah. ‘Oh.’” He took in a deep breath and sighed. “I’m a stupid _Omega_ . The only male Omega at my school.” I frowned, sympathetic to the poor boy. Omegas were more common than Gammas and Betas, but _male_ Omegas were rare. Many were kidnapped and forced into sex trafficking. The lucky ones who weren’t were laughed at. Few had safe lives. “My heat was a couple of days long, not as long as some of the girls at my school, thankfully. But after I went back to school, they all...kept _whispering_ about me. As if I wasn’t there to hear them.” He scoffed, his left hand rubbing at a spot on his right arm. “One of the recently presented Alphas tried to grab me -- his other gender taking over completely. MJ, my other best friend, is an Alpha Female and she had to pull him off of me. Ned’s a Gamma, and he was as scared as I was.” I could smell the self-hatred rolling off of him, his friend saying comforting words.

“And you froze,” I finished for him, a frown on my face. “You thought you would be prepared if something like that happened, but then it did, and you froze.” He looked at me, a saltiness hitting the air. “And now, you blame yourself. You blame your mind, thinking maybe if you were tougher, you would have been a Beta or a Gamma. You blame your body, thinking if it had more muscle or endurance you wouldn’t be an Omega. But most of all, you blame your core -- your heart and soul that, no matter what you went through physically, psychologically, and emotionally over the years, always wanted to be an Omega. Always wanted the comfort only an Alpha could bring. _And that’s okay._ ” I grabbed his hand again, looking at him where I thought his eyes would be. “It’s _okay_ to feel like that, sweetie. But you need to remember that someone out there-,” I motioned to the street, “-someone out in this big and vast world was made just for you. You have your friends, MJ and Ned, and you also have your soulmate. He or she will find you, and you won’t have to be scared, anymore.” He let out a choked sob, his head falling to his chest and his shoulders shaking. I scooted over, my skirt moving to show off more of my upper thighs, and I pulled the Spiderling into my arms, his head resting on my shoulder as I patted his back.

“I just-,” he stuttered out, whimpering, “-I just wanted to be a normal Gamma or Beta. I never thought I could be an Alpha, and I accepted that, but an _Omega_ ? I wasn’t prepared, and I thought...thought Mr. Stark could help me. But he won’t answer, and-and Pepper gives me these p-pity looks, and Happy doesn’t contact me as much anymore, and I feel so alone -- even when I’m with my best friends.” I nodded, rubbing the boy’s back. He sniffled, pulling off his mask and leaning away, looking down at the mask. “How can I be an Omega _and_ Spiderman? If Alphas use their voice on me, I’ll _have_ to follow. A-And I don’t know what to do.” 

Peter’s face was gaunt. Pale white like he was sick, dark bags under his eyes like he hadn’t been sleeping, and cuts lining his face as if he had been in a scuffle and almost didn’t come out of it. He favored his left side more than the right, and I wondered if he had broken ribs or growing bruises. I pursed my lips, looking into his puppy brown eyes filled with sorrow, and grabbed hand sanitizer from my bag. Wiping it over my left wrist, the gel dissolved and my scent was mixed with typical sanitizer. 

“Peter,” I said softly, reaching the same hand up to wipe tears away from his face, “can I tell you a story?” He nodded, sniffling again as he wiped furiously at his tears. “I was born to be a weapon of Hydra.” He stiffened, eyes widening and wariness growing in his features. I ignored it. “My father was a cruel man, a scientist who began experiments on me when I turned ten. None of them worked until I hit sixteen. My father found out I was an Omega and, you know what he did? He had the guards rape me over and over until I gained powers.” If his face didn’t look he’d puke, it looked like it now. I turned to look at the street below us. “It took three days. He’d inject me with serum after serum, men taking turns to rape me, and I was allowed rest for only five hours before it started up again. Most of the time, I blacked out. Other times, I was forced to stay awake and scream until my throat went raw and my tears dried out. You know that Norse Gods exist.” He nodded at my statement.

“I-I haven’t met Thor, yet. Or Loki.” His voice was full of emotion and could hear how pained he was to hear my story. I nodded, counting the number of cars on the street repeatedly.

“My mother is the Greek Goddess, Hecate. I prayed to her, asking her to save me; take me away from the bad men that were hurting me. She didn’t. Instead, I gained regeneration powers -- meaning any cut or bullet hole heals immediately after penetrating my skin. I had to hide it from my father so that they all thought that my only ability was shapeshifting in animals. I was stuck there for years -- the guards raping me when my heats came, or when their ruts did -- and I was lucky enough to have stopped their advances with marking. If they succeeded in doing so, I would have killed myself.” Tears began to fall from his eyes and I smiled bitterly. I had cried out all of my tears over the years. “Because I am a demi-god, I age slower, and when I still looked twenty at forty, they inducted me into the Winter Soldier Program. I became a super soldier like Barnes and Rogers, and I was sent out to kill Director Fury. But I didn’t. I ran and ran and _ran_ until I was sure they couldn’t find me.” 

“H-How long...has it been?” Peter’s voice was hoarse, sniffling every once in a while. 

“Twenty years.” I turned back to him, grabbing his hand again. This time, he grasped my hands firmly, as if letting me know he was there for me. I had met many Omegas over the years, but only Peter stuck with me. As if my Omega accepted him as my child -- though every child that I could have had were aborted while I was captive. “I’m telling you this because I resented being an Omega for a _long_ time. I hated everything about myself, and I vowed to never let another Alpha take control over me, again. I lost out on dates, loving sex-,” he blushed and I gave him a crooked grin, “-everything I wanted when I was a hormonal fourteen-year-old learning about soulmates was tossed away because I was scared every Alpha would hurt me. I still have nightmares about Hydra. So much so that I rely on caffeine to get me through everyday. I don’t want you to follow my suicidal path and lose out on life. Fall in love, okay? Break some hearts, get your own broken, tell me so I can beat their ass-,” he laughed, a smile finally appearing on his face, “-and do it all over again. Someone out there is made _just_ for you.”

“O-Okay,” he said shakily, nodding and sniffling for the last time. “I will. Promise.” My grin widened, pride filling me.

“Good.” I let go of his hands to grab my fanny-pack with a space extension on it. Reaching my arm down into it (much to his shock), I pulled out some of the gel I kept, along with pills and a nose purifier. “Here.” I handed it all to him, chuckling at his confused look. “Sorry. I’m pretty inventive -- ever since I turned sixteen, blueprints of projects that I could make would come into my head. I had to block them out until I escaped, but once I was free, I made these. My... _mother_ also gave me the power of magic after I was free.” He perked up.

“Like Harry Potter?” 

“Yeah,” I said, nodding giddily at the curious boy, “just without the wands.” He laughed, looking at the items. “These pills are heat-pills. They can curb the pain from the heat so that you can go through the day with only a dull ache. They are very helpful, especially when you have an exam that will drop your grade _dramatically_ if you miss it.” He laughed at my words, smiling at me. “This is a gel-like lotion. You rub it on your scent glands -- left and right side of your neck, your wrists, and the back of your neck -- and it hides your scent until you wash it off _with_ soap or hand sanitizer. So the rain cannot get rid of it.” I held up my wrist that smells vaguely of hand sanitizer but mostly of sickly sweet raspberry-vanilla. He took in a deep breath, grabbing my wrist and bringing it closer to his face and whining. I smiled, running the hand through his hair. “That is a nose purifier. It’s like a septum piercing, but you don’t have to pierce the skin. It’ll purify the scents so you aren’t overwhelmed, especially when you’re close to being in heat.” He nodded, smiling down at the items and reading over the ingredient list.

“Wait,” he murmured, looking up at me with furrowed eyebrows. “I’ve seen these before. These are always at the high-end stores behind, like, locked cases. They cost like three hundred bucks! How did you get these?” I smiled.

“I made them, Peter.” He gaped at me, surprised. “I am the CEO of Omega Pharmaceuticals by day, hitwoman by night. I made those years ago-,” a frown tugged at my lips, “-though they aren’t supposed to be three hundred. We ship out a whole bunch.” I pursed my lips, tugging out my phone and sending a text to my secretary, Rocky. “I’ll have to ask about that. We usually send thousands of them to chains, all over the world, and they were supposed to be twenty bucks.” He gasped, his deer-caught-in-headlights look cute. “I make a lot of things, Peter. Things that help Omegas. Unfortunately, I cannot seem to make anything that blocks out the Alpha voice. The only reason I am adept in overcoming it is because I have had enough practice. In my experience, though, Alphas will use that as a last resort. If you use the scent blocker when facing an Alpha, they won’t know you’re an Omega and won’t try using the voice. But for yourself, I would highly suggest telling your friend, MJ, about what you do. Having her with Ned, or just on Speed-Dial could help if an Alpha is trying to control you.” He drooped with relief and I moved closer to him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder and pulling him closer to me in a side-hug. He allowed it, resting his head on my shoulder as he looked at the gifts. “If you need more, Peter, you come to me.” He nodded.

“Circe?” His voice was small, hesitant in a way that reminded me of a small child. “Why do I feel so...at ease with you? I’m not this calm with other Omegas.” I took in a deep breath, smelling his cinnamon scent as I thought about it.

“Well, Peter, I have been pregnant many times. Each time, they were aborted.” I put a hand on his forearm, wrapping my fingers around it tightly. “My Omega mourned everytime we lost one, but I was always thankful. You are the first person I have come across that I want to...protect. You feel...like my own, if that makes sense?” I glanced down at the calm boy. “Do you feel this way with anyone else?” He hummed, nodding in affirmation.

“My mom and dad died when I was five. After that, I lived with my Aunt May and Uncle Ben. My Uncle Ben always smelled like my dad to me, though Aunt May smelled like…an _Aunt_ , I guess. But after Uncle Ben was murdered, her scent began to sour. Now, she smells sick to me all of the time.” I frowned, tears coming to my eyes as I rubbed his head more. “Mr. Stark used to smell really good as a stranger, but last I saw him...he kind of smelled like my own dad. Like they both used the same cologne and I finally realized it.” 

“I see,” I murmured thoughtfully. “That must be why you feel the way you do; why you are losing control over your senses: your dad’s gone.” He nodded hesitantly. “It’s okay, Petey. You and him made a connection, and while he may not admit it, he views you as his son. And I bet, right now, he’s really worried about how you are doing. I don’t doubt that he remembered your birthday. Probably had a _whole_ party planned with the Avengers and your Aunt.” He chuckled, a smiling blooming on his cheeks. He moved to sit up, looking at me with his puppy eyes.

“Do you know where he is?” 

I cocked my head at the child before me, assessing his face. Peter was really worried about Stark, and the Avengers. I wondered why Stark’s staff and friends kept his disappearance quiet, but seeing the determined spark in his eyes, I knew why: Peter would go after them and get himself hurt. _But he has you,_ my Omega whispered to me. _With you, he can save them._ I sighed, knowing Fury could get upset if I let Peter join.

“Yes, I do.” I began to explain what I knew -- about the Avengers being captured, Lee being the holder, and my plan to get them back. “He’s throwing a party in China really late tomorrow night for the big-wig weapon companies. I hacked in and added myself onto the list, under the name Juliana Valley. They will be under the impression that I am the daughter of a rich weapons mover named Randal Valley from Canada. He won’t be in attendance due to being underground -- the FBI almost caught him, so he’s laying low. I have blueprints of the building, and three levels under the ground level where the party is, there is a basement that was reinforced with vibranium and sound systems a week ago. I have a feeling that is where they will be.” Peter’s face was serious, thoughts and statistics rolling in his mind.

“I want to go.” 

“Peter,” I began, unsure if I should take him, “Fury wanted me to go, specifically, because I am an Omega. My scent will calm down the Avengers enough to follow me, but if they are in their ruts, I will _have_ to incapacitate them. If Stark is in a rut when I get there, I _have_ to knock him out. Will you be okay with seeing that?” He was silent, running over the options in his head before he finally nodded.

“If I can help you save them, I want to be there.” A smile tugged at my lips and I shook my head, chuckling to myself.

“Alright. Here.” I gave him my phone. “Put your phone number in.” He nodded, quickly pressing digits into my phone and handing it back. “Great. Now, say ‘goodbye’ to Ned, go home, and get some sleep. I will pick you up at eight, tomorrow, and we’ll get coffee before we go, okay?” He nodded, moving backwards to stand up. I followed suit, brushing off my skirt. “Oh, Peter? Fury hasn’t...told me something about the Avengers. He held it back. Do you know what he may have hidden from me?” He cocked his head, trying to think of what it could be.

“Well, most of them are mated to others on the team.” I choked on my spit.

 _“What?”_ Peter laughed.

“Yeah. That’s one of the few reasons they are still together after the Civil War issue. Black Widow and Hawkeye, Captain and Winter Soldier, Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner. Falcon and Agent Hill are together, too. It’s different because most of them are Alphas, but Rhodey let it slip to me that some of them are waiting for an Omega to complete their bond. They haven’t had any luck, I suppose. Other than that, I don’t know what he would have hidden from you.” I nodded, humming in response. “Are we taking a quinjet?” I smirked, shaking my head.

“I’ve been around for a long time, sweetie,” I teased, reminding him. “I have invented my _own_ transportation.” I opened my arms, smiling as he walked into them and hugged me tightly, head resting on my shoulder once again. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, rubbing his back. “You’re going to love it. I can hear you rambling in my head about how cool it is.” He laughed, tightening his arms once more before letting me go. I looked at his face, moving the hair out of his eyes. “It’s almost three. Sleep as much as you can, Petey. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

“Okay, Circe.” I laughed at the exasperated tone he used. I waved once and turned around, walking towards the edge of the building, near an alley. “Circe?” I froze, one foot on the ledge, and turned back to him. “How old are you?” I smirked.

“Sixty-two.” He gaped at me, eyes widening as I winked and jumped off the roof. He rushed forward, looking over the ledge, but I was already walking down the street. 

**_It is very hard to kill me,_ I thought to myself. _He’ll learn._  
**


	2. "Oops, I did it Again!"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Damn. You’d think they’d have lasers and shit. Like, what the fuck? Are they broke?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damaged people are dangerous.  
> They know how to make Hell,  
> Feel like Home.
> 
> \-- Anonymous

When I received Peter’s address at seven that morning, I was prepared. As a demi-god and serum-filled soldier, I only needed four hours of sleep at most  _ (though my therapist would probably say it’s due to me being conditioned to sleep a few hours and train more). _ I had been awake by seven, packing items away into a duffle bag with the same extension spell.

“Alright,” I muttered to myself, packing the black duffle-bag, “extra set of clothes for me, my gun and knife, more guns and knives, silencer, ammo, sedatives, syringes, smoke bombs, regular bombs, magic eight ball, blueprints, fourteen Chameleons, fourteen ear-wigs connected to my own A.I., Cerberus,” which I created a year after Stark made his own, “my laptops, my scent blockers and purifiers, and --  _ finally  _ \-- B.B.S.” It was short for ‘bye-bye-signal.’ Not one of my best names for things, I assure you. 

I trained for an hour before washing up, sending Peter a quick text that I would be there earlier so we could get coffee. When I arrived, dressed in my comfortable clothes, Peter was standing outside of his apartment building, looking around for something amazing. I smirked, honking once to catch his attention. His eyes widened and a grin overcame his face, though he was confused by what I was driving. He rushed forward, climbing into the passenger seat and placing a back-pack on his lap. 

“Got your suit?” I asked after he was buckled in. He nodded. “Scent blockers, nose purifier, and an extra set of clothes, just in case?” He nodded diligently, his smile growing. I nodded, maintaining the pleased look I had on my face. 

“Good.” I started the car up and we began moving, again. “Now, where do you wanna go? Dutch or Starbucks?”

“I don’t know. I’m craving something...fruity?” He asked hesitantly. I grinned, nodding once and making our way to Dutch. The radio was playing silently, purely there for background noise, and I could feel the boy was vibrating with questions.

“How’s Ned?” I asked politely, hiding the smirk I was growing. 

“He’s good,” Peter said, nodding jerkily. “Wanted to be the man in the chair for this one, too, but I told him it was too big and I didn’t want him worrying about me. He’s a worry-wart.” I chuckled, nodding.

“Yes, I would have invited him as well, but this is a time sensitive mission, and I would have to make sure he is confident in his abilities. Though, I am sure he is if he has you on the line.” I glanced at the smiling boy, laughter falling from his lips.

“Yeah, he’s more than excited when I do patrols, but he doesn’t like hearing me fight on the other end. He’s getting used to it, but he needs more practice, I’m sure.” We laughed, talking small chat as we waited in line for the fruity energy drinks. 

“Alright,” I said after we were on the road again, sipping fruity drinks with too much sugar, “spill all of your curious questions.” Peter took a deep breath and began rattling.

“Why is it a van? Why does it look larger inside than outside? How are we going to get to China in a car? When will we be there? Is this car hiding cool things?” I laughed, putting a hand up to calm him down.

“We are in a van because this is my stealthy machine. Over the years, I have come to notice that people look at expensive cars, first, and beat up vans, last. The reason it looks larger on the inside is because I used my magic on it. It’s empty back there, right now, but when we grab the Avengers, I’ll put up seats and everything.” We finally reached the outer part of the city and I drove down the country roads. “My van is very smart.”

_ “Thank you, Miss Circe.”  _ Peter gasped, jumping at the British voice that filled the car. I laughed as the radio screen flashed blue and red.  _ “My apologies, young Peter. I did not mean to frighten you.”  _

“I-It’s fine,” Peter squeaked, staring at the radio with wide eyes before turning to me. “You have an AI in your van?” I nodded, grinning widely at the boy.

“Yes.” I turned down a dirt road, going further down and stopping when we were hidden by trees. “Cerberus, my AI, is in my car, my house, my phone, my bluetooth -- almost everything technological that I have has him in it. This van, Peter, is the product of fifteen years of work.” I pressed the hazard-light button and the dashboard turned inside out, showing advanced buttons and scanners. My steering wheel moved in on itself, shifting to create both a yoke and side-stick (plane versions of steering wheels and gear-shifts). I pressed another button and the top part of a helicopter came out of the roof of my van. They went into the air, locking into place and beginning to whirl. “My van is a cross between a helicopter, submarine, and plain old van.” 

“Oh, my God,” Peter muttered as I moved the side-stick and pressed slowly on the gas. The propellers whirled faster and faster, and we slowly began moving up. “Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!” I laughed at Peter’s words, his wide eyes taking in everything as the trees began to grow smaller. “How fast does this thing go?”

“Very fast, Petey.” He snapped his head over to me and I continued my explanation of the van. “The van walls are made with vibranium, so bullets will, for lack of a better term, ‘bounce off.’ These color-coded buttons,” I motioned to the numerous buttons on the dashboard, “are for extensions I have on the van. For example, the many light blue ones are for traps -- missiles, tar, feathers, whatever, will come out of a magically extended part of the wheels and fire at whoever is after us. The three red buttons are ejections. If we are going down and press the buttons, the seats turn into parachutes and we are ejected from the van. I created safety bubbles to go around them, as well, so that the passengers won’t get hurt by debris or bullets.” I pointed to the remaining green buttons near the scanner in front of him. “Those green buttons are for the co-pilot -- when I have one. The scanner will show if we are expecting incoming traffic like another plane, helicopter, or flying Iron Man suit.” I laughed, the van moving forward quickly as I pressed harder on the gas. “The top green button brings out a military plane gun from the front wheel. The middle one locks on the aircraft we are about to shoot down, and the bottom button shoots the gun. Cerberus usually mans that for me, but if you want to --  _ if  _ we need it -- you can.” A stupid little grin was on his face, and it made my cheeks hurt from smiling too much. Peter nodded vigorously, looking at the scanner with interested eyes.

“What else is there?” He asked, eager to learn more about the car.

“This is my steering wheel.” His eyes fell onto the yoke, looking at it. “It’s meant for planes, but I used it for the van because I can fit buttons onto it. We have more ejection buttons and shit, but this yellow button,” I pointed at it, “makes us go invisible to people below us. Sadly, I could never get it to go all the way around.” I pointed to the side-stick. “This is supposed to look like a gear-shift, but I liked the lever idea better. Basically, this is what will make us go fast. Cerberus?”

_ “Yes, Miss Circe?”  _ Cerberus asked, voice coming through the speakers.

“What percentage of power are we at?” Cerberus was quiet as he calculated it.

_ “One hundred percent, miss.” _

“Awesome!” I looked back at a grinning Peter. “My car runs on clean energy. It’s mostly electricity and another element I found over the years, different from Stark’s arc reactor, though. After I use the speed, the percentage drops and it has to reload. I press this pink button on the side and push the lever forward, and boom. Warp Speed!” 

“Holy shit!” Peter screamed as the van suddenly lurched and the clouds flew past with incredible speed. I kept laughing, a loud cackling one of glee, and stopped it when light turned into darkness. He took in a deep breath, holding onto his chest with a pounding heart. We glided over the airspace in China, the city of Beijing still bustling. I turned on the invisibility and slowly landed down in an empty field. “Oh. My. God.” Peter went silent, staring at the dashboard with wide eyes, frozen in his shock. A flicker of worry filled me and I turned to him.

“Peter?” He didn’t respond. “Peter, baby, are you okay?” I reached out, caressing his face and snapping him out of his stupor. He snapped his head over to me, words spilling out of his mouth but not making any sense. I unbuckled myself, moving slightly over to hold his face in my hands, focusing my eyes into his. “Peter. Breathe.” He took a deep breath. “Exhale.” He followed my orders, doing it on his own as he finally calmed down.

“That...that was so  _ cool _ ,” he said breathlessly, a spark in his eyes. “Just like Star Trek! Can I fly it, one day?” I laughed, nodding and moving back into my seat.

“Yeah, buddy, you can fly it one day.” He squealed and I rolled my eyes, grabbing my bag and pulling out my laptop. “Let’s go over the plan, Peter.” He turned serious in an instant and I pressed a button on the side of the center console, turning it into a table. I put my laptop down with the paper blueprints. “Alright. The party starts at ten -- forty minutes from now -- and ends well into the morning. This is the entrance to the party. It’s at their biggest factory in China, the one nearest to Beijing. The ground level will be filled with politicians, mafia members, royalty, guards, everything and everyone that is important in their industry will be there. We will enter, here.” I pointed at the front door. “There will be two guards and they will scan our faces to make sure we are on the guest list. My natural face -- blue hair and all -- is on their list. You, however, are going to be wearing one of these.” I pulled out a Chameleon from my bag. I handed it to him. “You put it on your head, press the button, and your face, body-type, clothes --  _ everything  _ \-- will change to fit the picture programmed on it.” 

The wide-eyed boy put it on top of his head, pressing the button. His form shimmered and he gasped, looking down at his tiny shimmering hands that turned into big, tanned and beefy ones with golden bands. He put down the shader, looking into the mirror and gasping. He touched his face, flinching slightly as his soft hands touched his face, not feeling the stubble that his eyes were showing him. Peter moved the shader back up, turning to me with a grin.

“I look like an Alpha.” I nodded, a smirk on my face. He reached up and pressed the button, his form shimmering back into his own. “Are each of these programmed with different pictures?” I nodded.

“Yes. All of fourteen of them are programmed with different people. I was planning on using one if we get caught, so that’s my backup Chameleon.” He nodded, holding the object between his palms delicately. “Phase One: we get scanned, go in, and mingle for a bit. The guards in the cell-block change at midnight, and they will be coming from here.” I pointed to the staff room. “We need to pull them into the bathroom or an empty space and swap clothes, effectively taking their spots as the guards for the Avengers. We will be going down in a cargo elevator, here, and coming up in a similar cargo elevator over here.” The two elevators were almost on opposite sides of the building. “Phase Two: grab the Avengers. We have been tapped into their surveillance cameras, so we know they are stuck in one cell. It is reinforced with vibranium and a computer system next to it with the controls. After we unlock the cell, you and I will have to go in while Cerberus watches the live feed. They are all chained up pretty bad, and some have broken bones and will need to be carried out. After they are out, we lock the cell up like before, and Cerberus will have the false feed sending to the control room.

“Phase Three: we go to the cargo elevator on the other side of the building. It will go to the roof where Cerberus will be waiting with the van. Once they are all in, we will begin leaving -- quickly -- and attend to any injuries they may have. We need to take our time, but be quick when we need to be. This baby has to charge.” Peter nodded, eyes moving over the blueprint.

“What about the cameras? They will see us moving people around, won’t they?”

_ “That will be up to me, young Peter,” _ Cerberus said, grabbing Peter’s attention.  _ “I will be linked into the cameras and feeding them a false video feed. They will be seeing the Avengers trapped in their cell until you are either long gone, or they realize the video feed is wrong.” _ Peter nodded, calm despite the feeling of nervousness that filled his eyes. 

“What’s plan B?” I smiled, glad he was thinking so far ahead. 

“Plan B will be the Chameleons.” I pulled the fourteen bugs from my bag, stuffing them into the fannypack I will have wrapped around my thigh. “If we are about to be found out, these are programmed to look like guards. We’ll put one on each of the Avengers and have them infiltrate the guards. We will most likely be split up -- you taking the Avengers to the car and myself causing distractions.” Peter frowned, not liking that plan. I put a hand on his own. “Peter. You need to listen to me very carefully, okay?” He nodded, his face taking the serious look once again, furrowed eyebrows and all. “If we need a distraction,  _ I  _ am going to be that distraction. You are to protect the Avengers. Take them to the van and, if Cerberus says to leave, you  _ leave _ .” He nodded, making a soft smile come to my lips. “I am very strong, Peter. I’m not worried.”

“Well,” he scoffed with bitter amusement, “you have one up on me, then. Because I am worried this whole thing will go up into flames.” I laughed, shaking my head.

“Oh, it totally can. But that’s the fun!” He rolled his eyes and I put my items on the seat, lowering the center console close to the floor. “Come on. Let’s get changed.” He followed after me and seats came up from the van floor, equipped with harness seat belts and first aid kits. Foldable walls to cover us changing popped up, as well, and I could feel the relief rolling off of Peter. “Cerberus. Autopilot to the Venue. Make it quick.”

_ “Yes, Miss.” _

The van roared to life and began moving, Peter almost stumbling. I smiled, shaking my head as I grabbed the bag with the dress I would be wearing. I pulled off my sweatpants and hoodie, throwing them onto one of the chairs. 

“Change into your Spiderman suit.” He nodded and began changing. I slipped the opaque black dress that started from my breasts and down to my mid-thighs on, the shoulders and sleeves were a black sheer fabric, running over my dress and to the ground in a flowing ocean of black with bright silver stars. The belt around my accentuated waist pulled everything together, and my hair was already pin-straight, falling down my back in a ocean of blue. The folding wall fell back into the ground and I grabbed my fanny pack.

“Wow,” Peter mumbled, sounding surprised. I looked up at him, smirking at his awed face. “Isn’t that too fancy for a rescue mission?” I laughed, shaking my head. 

“It is. That’s why I have my magic.” In a shimmer of black sparkles, my outfit faded away into my tactical gear -- tight black cargo pants, a tight black shirt, and a leather jacket. “This is my ass-kicking outfit, bitch.” He gaped at me, a crooked grin growing on his face due to my meme reference. I chuckled and changed back as he shook himself out of the stupor.

“That’s awesome.” I laughed, nodding.

“I know, bud.” He was dressed in his Spiderman suit, but his mask was not on, yet. I grabbed two of the fourteen comms, placing the remaining twelve in my fanny pack, and handed one to Peter. “Put this in your ear. Cerberus and I can talk to you through it, and he will guide you through the building if we get seperated.” He nodded, grabbing it and putting it in his left ear. I grabbed my “small” fanny pack, putting the syringes and sedatives inside it, along with most of the items I placed into my duffle bag this morning. “Do you have any weapons that can be caught by the metal detector?” He nodded, looking down at his web shooters. “Alright, let’s put them in here, and when we knock out the guards, I can give them back to you.” He nodded, handing them to me to place in my pack.

“Aren’t they going to check your fanny pack?” 

“If it was a purse I would be carrying, yes. This is going on my thigh, and each bag I have carries a technological barrier. It hides the fact I have weapons from detectors. I’ve been through TSA over three thousand times, and these have never gone off.” I placed it there, hooking it tightly on the thigh that would not be shown through the slit. “This, however-,” I showed him the black spacer I had on the carry-on-bin uptop, firm to the touch, “is for my purses. I have notches in all of them for fake bottoms. When the security see tampons or birth control, they tend to not rifle through it.” Peter laughed loudly, making a grin come to my face. 

_ “Miss Circe, young Peter,”  _ Cerberus said, the van stopping.  _ “We are here. The illusions over the car are in place. Make your entrance.”  _

“Thanks, Cerberus.” I nodded to the van/fake Range Rover door, Peter opening it for me. 

Immediately, flashes went off. To the paparazzi, they believed the party was a gala of important politicians gathered for a meeting to discuss gun laws. The media in China often praised how their government was making great gun laws, and protecting the city. It turned out to be the opposite. I kept my face stoic, ignoring the reporters as Peter got out behind me, shutting it. He came next to me, grabbing my arm and leading me towards the large doors with a line of people getting ready to be scanned. When we were stopped behind the last couple, I began muttering to Peter.

“My scent blockers are with the pack,” I murmured to him, the boy’s ear closer to my mouth than what the others were seeing. “When we get down to the others, I’m going to rub it off so my scent is permeating. We need to wipe others down before we leave here.” He nodded once, staring straight ahead just like myself. The group of two, three groups in front of us, went up, getting scanned. “Your name is Jethro Avarela, Italian bodyguard. The comms will translate their words, but don’t speak. I will handle it.” We made it to the guards.

“Name?” The guard asked in English.

“Juliana Valley and Jethro Avarela.” The guard looked through the list, nodding to the other one. He came over and began scanning me, nodding once and moving to Peter, and frowned. He muttered in Mandarin to the other guard and rescanned Peter, finally nodding. Next was the metal detectors, a third guard roaming them up and down our bodies -- though he stilled it on my boobs, ogling them. After he finished, they nodded at each other and then at the door.

“Go.” 

I ignored the guard and pulled Peter gently with me, his hand gripping my own with Beta-like strength. I patted his hand, keeping my expression stoic as we walked into the crowd. There were many people I recognized from hacking -- Arnold Packard, drug dealer extraordinaire; Marcus Vanderwall and Amelia Vanderwall, brother and sister in the sex trafficking business; Prime Ministers and Senators from numerous countries; and more. Peter and I walked around, people either staring at my dress or Peter’s fake-but-handsome-face, but I ignored them, looking only for Lee. 

And finally, there he was: off in a back corner with his guards, a smug look on his face as his eyes roamed the crowd. My gaze flitted away, landing on the DJ, the younger brother of Lee. Shin-Hwa was a good kid, had no idea his brother was in a dangerous business, and focused on DJ-ing for celebrity parties and making bank. Sources I had on him said he was a Gamma, and his Alpha older brother was very protective over him. The only problem was that Shin-Hwa liked music from the 90s and early 2000s; and those were my  _ favorite  _ decades of music. 

“Let’s dance,” I muttered to Peter, pulling him towards the large group of swaying politicians. I looked up into the fake eyes of Peter, his facial expressions changing with Peter’s own. “Your facial expressions translate onto your face, Jethro.” He seemed to freeze, and he schooled his face, making me laugh gently as I put my arms on his fake arms (where his actual shoulders were). “Put your hands on my waist.” He did so with jerky movements, stiffly swaying with me. I shook my head with an amused smile, moving closer. “Come on, Jethro, live a little.” He scoffed but tightened his hold and swayed more with me. 

“I’ll have you know,” Peter muttered, inches from my face, “I know how to dance. Just not...slow dancing.” I smiled, huffing a laugh under my breath. 

“I don’t doubt it.” We continued to sway and I grew curious. “So, Jethro. What’s your type?” The fake face almost blushed, but the tanned skin didn’t take much of a red hue, his eyes roaming over the crowd. 

“I don’t know.”

“Oh?” I raised an eyebrow, looking at the women in the room. “Blonde ladies don’t do anything to you?” He snorted, shaking his head. “Brunettes? Gingers?” He shook his head again, rolling his eyes. “Oh, I see. Boys, then?” He coughed once, refusing to look at me, and I grew an evil grin. “Oh-ho-ho.” He blushed again, looking at me finally with a scrutinizing glare. “Oh, come on. What do you want in a soulmate?” He took in a deep breath, unsure, and I patted his shoulder. “It’s okay, honey. I won’t tell anyone. I just know a few Alphas from my job that are looking for their mates. Maybe it’s one of them?” He shook his head, a frown on his face.

“This is going to sound weird,” he muttered to me. “But a couple days before I became... _ me _ , I met a guy on patrol.” I raised an eyebrow, looking at his fake face to gauge his expressions. “He was an ass; stole my guy and  _ killed  _ him. I was so mad and disgusted; I needed that guy to catch his boss. I was livid, but the other guy...he just kind of flirted with me?” He shrugged, blushing again. “He smelt like an Alpha, and he kind of...I don’t know, gave me butterflies. After I turned, I was too afraid to look for him. I doubted I gave  _ him  _ any butterflies, the dick.” I laughed, shaking my head and looking over at the many giggling women dancing with their partners. Some of them weren’t proper mates, but who was I to judge?

“Did you get his name? Maybe I know him?” 

“Well, he called himself something really weird,” he muttered back to me, eyes landing on some guards. “Deadpool or something.” I stiffened, freezing in my spot. He looked back down at me, eyes widening as my smile widened and turned into an evil one. “Oh, my God. You know who he is, don’t you?” 

“Oh, yeah. And I know exactly what night you’re talking about.” I chuckled lowly, swaying to the music again. “He came to the bar I work at, talking about a boy he saw with, and I quote, ‘a Jesus-Christ-let-me-fuck-you ass.’” I snorted more of my laughter as his face really did turn a bright red hue. “Oh, man! He was in the bathroom for an hour jacking off. He was out looking for you the following night, but then he had to go on a mission. He was gone for five days; came back the day I got the mission. He called me yesterday, complaining about how he couldn’t stop thinking about your ass and how he kind of felt bad, now, for taking your man out.”

“R-Really?” I could practically feel the butterflies in his stomach through his shaky and shy voice. I nodded vigorously. 

“Oh, yeah. But if you don’t want to get mated on your first meeting, I suggest texting him first.” He tensed, anxiety rolling into him. “Or I could, you know, give him your number and he can make the first move.” He sagged with relief, nodding once before looking away from me again. I shook my head, smiling giddily. “He’s a good guy, but he’s an assassin like me. Close to twenty-five, and man, he has a  _ lot  _ of sexual jokes that are, surprisingly, well-thought-out.” Peter smiled, his eyes growing distant as he thought about my friend.  _ I really hope he’s your soulmate, Pete. I really, really do. _

_ “Miss Circe, young Peter,” _ Cerberus’ voice brought us out of our thoughts.  _ “There is thirty minutes before the guards are to switch. It would be best to get into position.”  _ I nodded, wrapping my arm around Peter’s own.

“I have to go to the bathroom, Jethro.” My voice was at a controlled volume, and people politely moved out of our way at my declaration. I gave them stiff smiles, nodding once as we made our way to the bathrooms -- female right next to the males and conveniently in a blindspot. “Stay out here.” Peter stayed silent, his heartbeat pounding in his wrist, and I went into the bathroom, checking out the stalls. Fortunately, there were no women. 

Picking the lock on the cleaning door, I grabbed the signs they pre-printed, putting them on the biggest stall, the two stalls facing each other next to it, and the front door to the bathroom. Peter helped me move the cleaning cart in front of the door, leaving it open and in front of the bathroom. Peter and I waited a few feet away, letting other women walking by that the bathroom was being cleaned -- after a wasted daughter of a senator puked in the back stall. When the two guards came, they breazed right past us, muttering to each other. 

Peter and I grabbed them, injecting the sedatives into their necks and covering their mouths. They dropped like flies and we dragged them into the bathroom, closing the door with the cart still out front. We took them into the biggest stall, sitting them on top of each other on the toilet. I grabbed two of the guard Chameleons out of my pack, holding one up to him.

“Do you want to wear the Chameleon or take their clothes?” He snorted, immediately switching out the Chameleons.

“Much rather be an illusion.” I laughed, watching as he pulled his mask over his head, put the Chameleon on his suit, and shimmered into a fully covered in black guard. The only skin visible was around the eyes and base of the neck. My outfit shimmered to my tactical gear, and we strapped on our weapons, my two guns carrying their silencers and a belt carrying smoke bombs and my magic eight ball. “What is that?” Peter had asked as he put on his web shooters.

“One of my newer inventions. I call it my magic eight ball.” I held it up, showing him the typical magic eight ball he grew up with. “Basically, I shake it vigorously and roll it towards the enemies like a bowling ball. When it hits them, one of three things will happen: one, it will raise into the air and release bullets like a machine gun; two, it will roll around them, grouping them into a circle before lighting the circle on a rapidly-growing fire that will consume them; or three, my favorite, become a low-grade bomb. You don’t know which one will happen, so that’s why I call it my magic eight ball.” Peter laughed loudly, curling in on himself as he did so. I blinked, closing the bathroom stall door and locking it with my nail. “What?”

“A  _ magic eight ball _ !” Peter laughed, his fake skin glowing red with amusement. “You called a grenade a magic eight ball. Magic eight balls are fun, not dangerous like a grenade. It’s a contrast of connotation, and it’s great!” He finally calmed down, sniffling and wiping at his face. “Are you...are you going to add more options onto it?” I nodded vigorously as we walked to the bathroom door.

“Definitely! I was thinking of a glitter bomb --  _ literally  _ \-- but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. That’s why I only have one.” He chuckled in response and I brought my watch up. “Okay, Cerberus. Is the coast clear?” 

_ “Yes, Miss Circe. And the switching guards are waiting for the elevator.”  _ I nodded, Peter rushing out of the door. I locked it with my lock picks and we walked briskly to the cargo elevator, stopping in front of it as the doors opened.

_ “-Yúchǔn de fùchóu zhě liánméng. Kànzhe tāmen fèndòu hěn yǒuqù,” _ one of them said in Mandarin, snickering. Cerberus translated the words:  _ “Those stupid Avengers; it was fun watching them struggle.” _ Peter tensed next to me, but we said nothing. They turned to us, beginning to step out. 

_ “Zhù nǐ hǎo yùn, Chén. Tāmen zhǐshì zāoshòu zhémó, yǐ huòqǔ xìnxī, dàn wǒmen yīwúsuǒhuò. Tā mā de guài tāi,” _ the other one said, snickering with his buddy. We nodded and they walked past us, not touching us as they walked down the hall. I pushed Peter forward into the elevator, sensing his anger.  _ (“Good luck, Chen. They were just tortured for information but we didn't get anything. Fucking freaks.”) _

“It’s okay, Peter,” I said soothingly when the doors closed, reaching into the pocket of my leather jacket to grab the hand sanitizer. “We’ll get them out and-,” I froze, the elevator music finally registering in my head, “-oh,  _ no _ . It’s Brittney Spears.” Peter snorted out a laugh. “No, you don’t-- _ I cry watching the days, can’t you see I’m a fool in so many ways _ \-- understand, I love her!” I started bobbing my head, rubbing my scent glands and dancing where I stood. “ _ But to lose all my senses, that is just so typically me. Baby, oh! Oops, I did it again! _ ” Peter kept laughing as I serenaded him, the elevator slowly climbing down. “Oh, my god, they have the talking part, too!” I waited until it was over before belting: _ “Oops, I did it again to your heart!” _ Right as the doors opened. To the Avengers. Sitting in their cages, haggard and tired and glaring at the elevator with extreme hate. Peter pushed me forward and out of the elevator. “ _ Got lost in this game, oh baby! Oops, you, think that I’m sent from above. I’m not that _ \--ooh, they look mad.” I finally noticed them, jumping when their glares that landed on me grew more furious. “This is so exciting! We’re going to have  _ so  _ much fun.” Peter snickered under his breath, his eyes already landing on the control panel. 

“Come on,” he muttered, glancing around the room. “There could be other guards.” I nodded, standing in front of the control panel with him. 

“Cerberus, scan the hallways,” I muttered, hearing his affirmation. I looked back at the control panel, Peter walking to the other hallway feet away to look. 

_ “There are no guards around the area. They are under the assumption that the Avengers would be unable to escape, and that no one is coming for them due to news outlets in America keeping their disappearance quiet.”  _ I nodded.

“Alright. Freeze the cameras. Phase Two is about to begin.” Peter came back and I looked up at the Avengers. 

Barnes, Rogers, Banner and Thor were chained to the wall with vibranium chains; Romanoff, Wilson, Rhodes, Stark and Barton were chained to the wall with regular chains -- Rhodes, Barton, and Stark with bloody faces while Romanoff appeared to have a broken arm and foot, her face gaunt and sweating. Loki, Maximoff and Vision were the only ones not chained to a wall, Maximoff sitting next to Romanoff to wipe off her sweat and talk to her. Loki was between Barton and Rhodes, cursing under his breath as he tried to use his magic. Vision was standing next to the wall, eyes narrowed on us and watching our movements with utmost scrutiny. I noticed they all had collars on with red, blinking lights -- most likely to dampen their powers like the Raft did to Wade. 

“Wait a  _ damn  _ minute,” I said, no longer bothering to whisper, turning to Peter and pointing at two others. “Who the hell are they? I came here with the supplies for  _ fourteen  _ people, not sixteen.” On the other wall, chained with vibranium chains with the other four Avengers, two males sat: a salt-and-pepper man that looked so done with everything, and an African American man that kept struggling at his binds. 

“I don’t know,” Peter said with an amused shrug, making me sigh. 

“Oh, well. The more the merrier, as the normals say.” Peter snorted, rolling his eyes. 

“ _ Concentrate _ .” I turned back to the control panel, eyeing the pretty giant pink button. 

“Ooh, what does  _ this  _ button do?” I went to press it, but Peter grabbed my hand.

“Don’t press it if you don’t know what it does.” I pouted at his ‘what-the-fuck’ tone. 

“Alright,  _ fine _ . Cerberus what does this button do?” 

_ “That one will shock the Avengers, Miss Circe.” _ I snapped my head to Peter, placing my hands up and he glared at me. _ “The vitals for the Avengers are skyrocketing. I suggest pressing the top green button in the middle of the panel so that communication between you can be established, along with the removal of your Chameleons.” _ Peter pressed the button and Cerberus was right: many of them were cursing the two of us out, Stark using some very explicit words as he glared at us. I gasped theatrically, my hand going to my mouth in fake shock.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” I took off my Chameleon, my form shimmering and turning back to my mission uniform. Their eyes widened, the three unchained ones straightening. I put my hands on my hips, giving my usual crooked grin. “Your extraction party of two is here to save the day, so which button do I push to undo…,” I trailed off, motioning to all of them, “all of this  _ bullshit _ .”

“Who is that guard with you?” Rogers asked suspiciously, Peter muttering beneath his breath as he ran his eyes over the panel. I turned to Peter, nudging him. 

“Oh, sorry.” Peter reached up, taking off his Chameleon. “It’s Spiderman, Captain.” Stark straightened, moving to stand in a hunched position due to the chains.

“Kid?” Stark called out, voice filled with worry and anger. “What the  _ hell  _ are you doing here?” I reached up, rubbing my scent glands to make sure the gel was gone.

“We’re rescuing you.” I turned back to the panel, running my eyes over them, again. “Well,  _ technically _ , she is, but I came along for the ride. So if Fury asks, I was not here.” 

“You  _ shouldn’t  _ be here, kid,” Falcon said, sounding exhausted. “It’s not safe.” 

“ _ Correction _ , Mr. Wilson.” I pressed the blue button off to the side. The doors slid open, some of them beginning to stand. “ _ I _ am not safe; therefore, Spidey is safe with me.” I led Peter to the door, Maximoff, Loki, and Vision moving forward as they eyed us. 

“That makes no sense,” Stark growled, eyes flashing gold as his Alpha came out. “Who the hell are you?” I made Peter pause, reaching my hand out a little to make sure there were no lasers going through the doorway.

_ “There are no lasers or silent alarms, Miss.”  _ I pouted.

“Damn. You’d think they’d have lasers and shit. Like, what the fuck? Are they  _ broke _ ?” Peter snorted as we walked in. I moved towards the first Avenger, Thor, while Peter rushed towards Stark. “And to answer your question, Stark, I am the gun-for-hire that Fury sent to find and  _ save  _ your asses.” My scent of raspberry-vanilla sweetness swept through the room, Thor beginning to growl.

“Omega?” Loki asked, sounding surprised. I nodded, studying Thor’s chains.

“Fury said my scent would, and I quote, ‘calm the stupid, stubborn, and head-strong Alphas.’ Have to say, you don’t look  _ calm  _ to me!” I laughed and turned to Thor, his gold eyes beginning to fail as I grinned at the demi-god. “Have you struggled against these?” 

“Of course we fucking  _ struggled _ ,” Barton growled, unamused. “Those are vibranium. And with these stupid fucking collars, we can’t fucking do anything.” 

“Touche, Barton, touche.” I grabbed Thor’s wrist, looking at the key-hole. It would be too advanced and time-consuming to pick. I cursed and wrapped my hands around the chain, instead. Bracing my feet, I pulled on the vibranium chains myself, squealing as I fell back and landed on my ass, pulling the chain out of the wall quite easily. “Ow! My fucking ass.” It was silent until Barton and Wilson began roaring with laughter. I sat up, turning to them with a grin. “Oh, look, Mr. and Mrs.  _ Grumpy Pants _ know how to laugh.” That shut them up, real quick. I turned back to Thor, watching as he tried to pull on his other wrist, to no avail. He growled, angry.

“How are you able to take them apart so easily, Omega?” Thor asked, his voice serious but conveyed his annoyance over his own shortcomings. I came over and wrapped my hands around the chain, again, pulling it out of the wall.

“I’m strong as  _ fuck _ .” I grabbed one of Rogers’ chains next, pulling it free. “Don’t worry, one out of five have performance issues; not uncommon.” I winked at the shocked demi-god and chuckled at his confused and unsure expressions. “I’m kidding, big guy. It’s probably the collars. Speaking of which, Cerberus, how do we get those stupid collars off? I’ve been here for five minutes and am already tired of looking at them.” Rogers gave me a confused look, but nodded his thanks when I pulled out his other chain. “Once again, I must question their bank accounts because this is child’s play.” I was on Barnes’ chains when Cerberus answered.

_ “They are remote controlled, Miss Circe.”  _

“Ahh,” I hummed, nodding to myself, pulling Barnes’ last one and moving to Banner. “That’s where their money went: remote control dog collars.  _ Dumbasses _ . And who has the fucking remote?” Cerberus responded and I pulled out Banner’s chains. “Lee.  _ Fantastic _ .” I pulled out the chains of the other two men, turning around to see the free men trying to remove the chains from their friends, Peter looking at Stark’s collar.

“Cerberus,” Peter said, catching their attention. “If we break it, will it do anything? Like alert Lee or shock them?” 

_ “No, young Peter.” _ Peter nodded, and I walked over to the group, pulling out chains one by one with a quick speed, the watchful men moving back to let me do so with awed eyes.

“Who the hell are you talking to?” Stark asked, confused. “Is there another one of you here to grab us?” Peter just shook his head, turning to me. 

“We were talking to my AI, Cerberus,” I told them, pulling out Wilson’s chains, finally. “Sorry, ladies and gents, but you’re going to have to wait to get rid of the handcuff part. Peter, pass these out.” I handed Peter the fanny pack, hearing him unzip it and pass out the items. I looked the team over, deciding to start on Loki, first. “Loki. I’m taking your collar off since you’re closer.” He flinched, stiffening and looking at his brother for help.

“How are you taking it off?” Rhodes asked, helping Romanoff stand. I walked up to Loki, wrapping my fingers over the top of it, brushing my knuckles against his neck. His skin sent tingles into my own, and butterflies flew in my stomach. His eyes widened with surprise and assessed my face. I pushed the thought of it away and focused on the collar.

“Hopefully, like this.” I pulled, my hands going separate ways, and it snapped apart like a twig. Loki, however, was jostled forward, rubbing his bruised neck. “Oh, my God. Spidey, this is the cheapy shit, too!  _ Ugh _ !” I groaned dramatically as Peter laughed, making me turn to him. “Zip it, Spidey. We go shit to do, places to be, time to kill!” I tore off Barnes’ next, the man not moving like Loki did. Rogers and Thor were next. I made it to Stark and connected eyes with him, a confused yet amused twitch hitting his lips. “I came here with the mentality that I would be receiving a  _ challenge _ . This amateur cage, the laser-less doorway, and the twig collars are totally killing  _ all  _ of the brain cells I have left.” He snorted as I broke the collar and moved to Banner. Idly, I noticed that the tingles and butterflies appeared when I touched the five Alpha Males and Gamma, but I pretended not to notice and continued on. They were glancing at each other with confused eyes over my head when I finished breaking Maximoff’s last. “Alright, put the coms in. In case we get seperated, you’ll need them. The other item is a scent blocker. Rub it on your neck and wrists.” Some of them nodded, though Stark, Romanoff, Loki, Rogers and Barnes looked at it with unsure expressions. I gave them the creepy, sickly sweet smile that made their bodies tense and look around, perturbed. “Put it on, or you’re staying here.” Stark huffed but put it on anyways, the others following his lead. 

“Here, Circe.” Peter handed me the fanny pack back, and I clipped it back onto my waist, grabbing another gadget for illusions from it. Throwing it on the ground in the middle of the room, the Avengers placing the remainder of the scent blockers in their pockets. 

“Circe?” Barnes asked, confused. I looked up, raising an eyebrow. “I...know that name.” 

“Well, I would  _ hope  _ so, Barnes. You trained me how to shoot a gun when I was six. Then some knives when I was seven. One time, you taught me how to use a grenade launcher. Best lesson  _ ever _ .” Idly, I was typing onto the watch I had on my wrist, setting up the miniscule aspects of Phase Two while I talked. However, once it sunk in, one of my guns was pulled out of my holsters, and I was pushed up against the wall. “Oof!”

“Hey! Stop it!” Peter called out, trying to step forward, but held back by Wilson and Stark. They all gave me death glares, Barnes and Rogers pinning me to the wall and Romanoff holding my gun in her only good hand. I raised an eyebrow, watching as the others moved around to stare me down, unsure. 

“Now,” I began, raising my hands and motioning to the room, a chaotic grin on my face, “this is what I call a challenge!” I looked between the two Alphas holding me, a memory flash coming to my mind. I maintained a thoughtful look, cocking my head. “You know, the last time I was held to a wall like this, I was raped quite brutally.” Rogers flinched, letting go and stepping back. Barnes stared me down, his eyes carrying a concerned and unsure look as he looked back at Rogers and Romanoff. “Don’t worry, sweetums, it wasn’t you.” I looked over at a gaunt-faced Loki, seeing as he had the most issues with his parents, and gave him a conspiratorial look. “ _ Parents _ , am I right?” Barnes flinched and stepped back nonetheless, a look of rage and disgust on his face. I didn’t have to look at the others to know their expressions were the same. I chuckled and kept my eyes on Romanoff, who was stepping forward. Her face was stoic but her eyes lit with a fire my own usually held as she stared me down.

“Stay  _ right  _ where you are,” Romanoff growled. “We don’t work with Hydra; neither does Fury. Who are you, and why are you here?” I forced the sickly sweet smile on my face as my anger built up, permeating the air and making the Alphas (including her) flinch back and cover their noses. Omega anger always meant sour or rancid fruit -- and mine was overpowering. 

** “I am Circe. I am the one saving your stupid hides from getting tortured more.” I walked forward, standing in front of the gun. “I owe you  _ nothing _ . But after this, all of you owe me  _ many  _ favors. Now, I suggest you give me back my gun before I am pushed to take it from you.”    
**


	3. "Maybe a Spear, but Definity not Machine Guns. Mundane."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “My life is not worth four hundred dollars in gift cards!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They look at me and think,  
> "Is she going to send  
> Me to the Devil?"  
> But they should know,  
> I am the Devil.
> 
> \-- Anonymous

Romanoff stayed where she was for a few seconds, the two of us glaring into each other’s eyes. Finally, she lowered the gun, handing it back to me. I grabbed it from her, placing it back in my holster. 

“Good girl.” I turned to Peter, walking forward and hooking our arms together. “Let’s rock ‘n’ roll, Spidey. There’s a pizzeria calling my name in Queens.” Peter snorted good-heartedly but sent scathing glares at his friends. We stood outside of the room when I heard a couple of them mutter and sigh, but when they came out, Romanoff was on Rogers’ back, Barton on Barnes’, and Rhodes riding on Thor’s. Stark was stable enough to walk, and he stood close to Peter, eyes never wavering from my form. I pressed the blue button again, the door shutting once again. “Cerberus, initiate Phase Two Cameras.”

_ “Yes, Miss Circe. The illusions are set, the feed is live. I will direct you to the elevator.” _

“Wonderful!” I moved forward in front of the tensed group, away from the main elevator. 

“But the elevator is right there?” Barton asked, his statement trailing off into a question. 

“Great question, Mr. Grumpy Pants! Sadly, it leads  _ straight  _ to the party where there are numerous guards with really big guns, and playboy bunnies dancing around in overpriced, skimpy dresses and caked in makeup,” I responded lightly. “Sounds like Heaven, I  _ know _ , but Fury told me to get in, get you, and get out. I’m taking you the way with the least traffic, dearest.” I heard a snort but didn’t look back, my face morphing into a grin as we walked.

“You’re a mercenary,” Rhodes stated, breaking the sudden silence. “Meaning you got paid to get us out.” I looked back at him with a grin, his expression like stone as he tried to assess me. “How much did you get?” 

“Gift cards, my dear man!” I checked the hallway and we continued forward. “A hundred dollar giftcard to Dutch Brothers and Starbucks --  _ each  _ \-- and a two hundred dollar giftcard to Olive Garden.” My stomach grumbled and I placed a hand on it. “Their endless pasta is, literally, heaven.” Peter laughed jovially but Stark made an appalled sound. 

“My life is not worth four hundred dollars in _gift cards_!” He complained, scandalized. I glanced back at his shocked and appalled expression, raising my eyebrow in response. 

“Well, Fury looked to be on the receiving end of a recession, so I said what I wanted.” I shrugged and turned back to the front. “Besides, I’m not getting much out of this job -- mostly a headache and bragging rights, along with a few favors. Usually, I get a couple million doing this bullshit and a good fucking  _ challenge _ , but out of the kindness of my heart, I decided the gift cards were enough. You’re welcome.” I chuckled. “Anyways, the plan is a success, so far, so the gift cards are doing their job!” I laughed to myself, my mind running through the plan repeatedly and eyes watchful.

“And what are the details of the plan, exactly?” Rogers asked in a low voice, moving forward to walk on my left, Peter on my right. I glanced over at the curious and suspicious man, his eyes having an Alpha-Gold hue to them. It seemed like he was trying to control his Alpha and slightly failing. I decided to be serious due to his stick-in-the-ass expression.

“The cameras are being monitored extensively -- especially the ones in your former cage. The illusions I invented will keep the guards in the security room, oblivious to the switcheroo act we have pulled.” I stopped them at the hallway, peering in to make sure no one was there, before walking down the empty corridor. “The cameras will switch from Cerberus’ pre-recorded frames to live frames after we have passed through. Phase One was infiltrating this stupid place. Phase Two was grabbing you from the cheap ass cage. Phase Three is getting all of you out,  _ preferably  _ unscathed but obviously that went out the window hours ago. The cargo elevator on the other side of the building will take us to the roof, where transportation will be waiting. After we are gone, the illusions will begin to fade, guards will check, and the tiny illusioner will turn into one of my home-made, glorious and unmatched bombs. It will kill the guards,  _ obviously _ , because they’re dickwads and I hate them and  _ fuck  _ the losers.” It was silent. “Any questions?” 

“Many,” Stark muttered dryly. 

“Pity.” I laughed, turning down another hallway. We continued walking in silence -- other than Cerberus -- when I began to hear voices. We were to go straight, but there was a hallway connected to the corridor, filled with ten guards. The group stopped and I peered out, noticing the guards were looking into a room, cheering loudly. I had the sudden, overwhelming urge to go over there -- my Omega practically screaming at me to do so. I turned back to the Avengers, looking directly at Peter. “Spidey, time for a distraction. Get them to the elevator,  _ quickly _ .” I gave him the fanny pack. “If anything goes wrong, Plan B.” 

“Understood.” Peter wrapped the fanny pack around him. I turned around, beginning to walk away when I was pulled back by a firm hand.

“What the hell?” Stark whispered, agitated with flashing gold eyes. “You can’t go out there by  _ yourself _ . You’ll get killed!” I raised an eyebrow and gave the man an amused smile. 

“Your concern is cute, but unneeded. And as long as you follow Spidey’s instructions, you’ll live.” I patted him on the shoulder, his face not amused and eyes fully golden. “Good talk.” I began walking out again, but two more hands pulled me back -- Rogers and Barnes, both equally unimpressed and overly agitated. 

“I agree with Stark,” Rogers growled, glancing at the entryway to the hallway. “There’s at least ten of them out there, maybe more in a room. There’s too many for one person.” Barnes nodded, along with Barton and Romanoff looking unimpressed. 

“All they have to do is point a gun and you’re dead,” Barnes growled, eyes flashing gold. “You’re outnumbered. They’ll kill you  _ brutally _ .” I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms.

“Good.” They blinked, looking at me like I was stupid. I huffed, rolling my eyes. “Look, assholes, this is  _ my  _ rescue mission, and if I wanna risk  _ my  _ life, I will fucking do it! Besides,” I sniffed haughtily, “they can’t kill me with a gun. I’m obviously too awesome to die by a couple of guns. Maybe a spear, but definity not  _ machine  _ guns. Mundane.” With their faces still holding the  _ ‘are you fucking stupid’ _ look, I reached into my holster and grabbed my knife. Holding up the knife, looking at all of them as I motioned to it. “Look, an ordinary, sharp knife that cost me . Now, watch  _ very  _ closely. Spidey close your eyes.” Peter followed my orders immediately, the others turning wide-eyed as they began to understand. 

With a quick slice, my throat was cut, blood spilling out of my neck and squirting onto the old clothes Barnes and Rogers had on. My slice was deep and I coughed for a bit, Barnes’ hand snapping out and holding onto my neck, trying to stop the bleeding. The five male Alphas and singular Gamma that made my skin tingle and stomach swarm with butterflies now had fully golden/green eyes. Each wore distressed expressions, stepping forward to do something.

“Shit!” Wilson called out, gagging. A few of the others looked extremely nauseous. Loki raised his hand to heal me and moved closer but I raised a hand to stop him. 

“ _ Watch _ .” My rough voice froze them and they watched as my cut throat -- at least three inches deep -- began healing quickly until there was no incision, no new blood, and no scar. I wiped the blood away from my neck, Barnes pulling his shaking hand back. I grinned, blood staining my teeth. “I’m a bad bitch, they can’t kill me.” Peter giggled but with one look from Stark, he quieted. I huffed again. “Jesus, you lot are stubborn. Chop, chop. I got that pizza waiting, and probably five tubs of ice cream. Get to the elevator.” I gave them another wide grin, showing off my bloody teeth again before I turned back around and walked into the hallway, the guards thankfully not having heard Wilson’s excessive gagging. 

As I walked towards the group of guards, the Avengers rushed past, Peter leading the pack. I was pleased to see that none of them followed me, but not very pleased to see the guards had no idea. I pulled out my gun, screwing the silencer on it while I watched the men laugh and cheer, looking in a window. I held my gun up, pointing it at the jovial group. 

_ “I hope she never does that again,” _ Wilson muttered into the comms, making me giggle.  _ “I almost puked all over Wanda.” _ Barton hummed in agreement, and I blocked their voices out.

“Aloha, assholes!” Their heads snapped over to me, and they grabbed their machine guns. “What are y’all doin’? Screwin?” I began shooting, the tiny ‘pew-pews’ filling the air with my maniacal laughter. They yelled out, some shooting their machine guns, but none managed to hit me as I killed them all. A few of them had knives thrown at them, hitting their foreheads and chests. The door with the window they were looking in opened and two guards came out, shooting loudly. “Ha, you missed, dumbass!” With five more shots, they were on the ground, dead. I began walking to the door, my pace calm and light as I peered into the room. A machine gun fired when I looked in, making me jump back. The man -- a man in a suit, if I saw correctly -- kept shooting so I waited, leaning casually against the wall. He finally stopped. “Are you done?” He yelled something in Mandarin and began shooting again. “Jeez, all I did was  _ ask _ , you big, ugly crybaby.” He kept shooting until suddenly he was out. I moved in front of the door, pointing my gun at the shaking Chinese man. His arms went up and he began crying out in broken English. “What’s up, buttercup?” He blinked at me, not understanding, and I walked into the room, my eyes landing on a shaking man -- a familiar-looking man that had been dead for two years. “Uh-oh.” My Omega immediately took over, a growl ripping from my throat that made the two men tremble more, the former dead one not looking at me. I felt my eyes turn to the Omega-White as she stepped into my skin and took control with an evil grin.

_ “Bàituō, ráole wǒ ba! Duìbùqǐ!”  _ He called out, trembling as I walked towards him. (Please, spare me! I’m sorry!)

**_“Nǐ cóng nǎ'er dédào de?”_** My Omega growled through me, pulling him up into the air by my hand. He cried out, whimpering as tears fell from his pathetic eyes. **“** ** _Nǐ cóng nǎ'er dédào de?”_** My yell made him cry out, wetting his pants. (Where did you get him?)

_ “Jiǔ tóu shé!” _ He stuttered out.  _ HYDRA? _ I growled, shaking him and making him scream again.  _ “Tāmen yǒu yīgè biànzhǒng de zhìliáo shī. Tā zhìyùle tā, tāmen bǎ tā jiāo gěile wǒmen jìnxíng cèshì.”  _ (They had a mutant healer. He healed him and they gave him to us for testing.)

**“** ** _Bad_** **, rat bastard.** ** _Bad_** **.”** I snarled and threw him onto the ground, shooting him in the legs multiple times. He screamed and I walked over to the terrified man, putting my hand on the shaking Alpha’s shoulders. I pushed my Omega side back, my eyes losing the white and going back to their deep royal blue. “Hey, sweetie.” My Omega’s maternal side took over, my voice softening and my scent amplifying a comforting scent. He whimpered, looking up at me with his striking blue eyes bright with tears. “Oh, shit, don’t cry. It’s okay, I’m going to bust you out of here.” The man began yelling again, making the man cry out, flinching back. I turned back to the Chinese man, shooting him silently in-between the eyes. “Shh, shh. See? Bad Rat Bastard is gone, now. It’s okay, sweetie.” I put my hand on his forehead, my magic coming to the surface. 

While I carried magical powers, I tried not to use them too much unless it was a last resort. My magic tended to deplete fast -- which could be fixed if I used it often -- but Hecate gave me the powers, and I couldn’t stand her righteous ‘I-am-your-mother-listen-to-me’ bullshit. Forcing my magic into his body, I healed his numerous broken bones, incisions, and cleared him free of his three-day-long fever. He kept breathing in my scent, whimpering until he finally passed out, exhausted. 

_ “Circe,”  _ Peter said, snapping me out of my Omega daze. They had been trying to catch my attention for a while, I distantly noted. But being in that daze made me ignore them.  _ “We’re almost to the elevator. If you’re coming, you better hurry.”  _ I shook myself, trying to displace the maternal energy roaring within me.

“Ugh, gross.  _ Feelings _ . I’m on my way.” I turned back to the young Alpha, lifting him into my arms before I walked briskly out of the room. “That was not much of a challenge,  _ either _ ! Life is full of disappointments.” The hallway was silent, the dead bodies of the guards unmoving.

_ “Finally, you answer,”  _ Romanoff growled, sounding annoyed.  _ “Who did you find?” _

“Oh, shut up. I’m an Omega; my maternal instinct came out, at the most inopportune time, as  _ usual _ ! Turns out Pietro Maximoff is still alive.” I made my way to the hallway my blood was at, breaking out in a jog. The sister of Maximoff gasped and began speaking frantically, asking questions that I couldn’t answer. Instead, I continued jogging and said what I could. “I heard rumors when I was in Hydra of a mutant healer. He could heal every issue with no sweat. Some even said he could bring you back from the brink of death. Thought it was pretty interesting, so when I got out, I used my down time to search for him.” Cerberus muttered to me that certain hallways were clear, so I kept jogging, taking in a deep breath. “I found out where he was, and also a select few secrets he held. Kaos, the healer, was a necromancer.” Maximoff began hyperventilating, Falcon and Vision trying to calm her down.

_ “I remember those rumors,” _ Maximoff whimpered. _ “I didn’t know he was real.” _

“Oh, he’s real, and a fucking dick. Hella rude, very stuck up, one of the few mutants I would willingly and  _ happily  _ kill. He makes my blood  _ boil _ .”

_ “A necromancer?” _ Barton asked, confused. Immediately, there was a scuffle, a voice pounding on my ears.

_ “Necromancer? What is the Omega speaking of?” _ Thor called out, sounding agitated. Thor, Loki, and Banner didn’t take a com, due to Thor’s power frying it, Banner turning into the Hulk, and Loki because we didn’t have enough and the others didn’t trust him.

_ “She just said there was a Hydra mutant with the power,”  _ Wilson said.  _ “What’s wrong with you two?”  _

_ “Necromancers are evil creatures,”  _ I heard Loki’s voice say over the com.  _ “Any Asgardians that are found practicing necromancy are either exiled or killed in a ritual. They go against the balance of life and death.”  _

_ “How did Hydra get one?” _ Rogers asked, sounding confused. _ “If they had created one, there would have been multiple all over the world, coming out of the woodworks like no tomorrow.” _ I opened my mouth to answer, getting closer to the group when Cerberus cut me off.

_ “Oh, dear. Miss Circe, it seems someone heard your fight,”  _ Cerberus said quickly.  _ “They have sent Experiment G78AP4.”  _ My blood went cold and I looked behind me down the long hallway, seeing a shadow getting closer. 

“Oh.” I turned back around and booked it towards the elevator.

_ “Experiment what?”  _ Stark asked, sounding confused. _ “What the hell is that?” _

“The only thing that makes me turn into a child within the span of three seconds. It is the bane of my existence.” I huffed, breaking a sweat with fear as I pushed myself harder. “Shit, it heard me. Run to the elevator.” I could hear them scuffle, Peter yelling for them to hurry as he began running. It screeched behind me, and I squealed in response, debating if I should shoot.

_ “Circe? What happened?” _ Peter asked, concerned.  _ “We’re at the elevator.”  _ I turned my head, seeing it getting closer.

“I became a pussy in the span of three seconds, Spidey,  _ that’s  _ what happened.” It screeched again and began scurrying towards me. I finally turned the corner, seeing them piling in the elevator, Peter on the ceiling so they could all fit -- which looked difficult. When they were finally in, Rogers and Barnes turned to me, eyes widening as my fear permeated the air. I pushed my legs faster, the salt-and-pepper haired man stepping forward. “Press the floor button!” I slowed down, grabbing onto the doorframe with my left hand, whirling myself into Stark, the young Alpha in my arms squished between us. “Shit, sorry, Stark.” Stark steadied me, grunting as I invaded his space. 

“What is it? What was after you?” Barnes asked, eyes raking up and down my body to look for wounds. The creature screeched and I flinched back, trembling.

“Giant spider; Hydra made it. They used it as a torture method for me when I didn’t follow orders as a kid. It eats humans, and its venom is very painful.” Stark pressed the button once and rapidly pressed the close door button. “Look how  _ ugly  _ that fucker is. It’s a real bitch, too. One time, it bit me and it made this sound that sounded like it was laughing at me.” I shuddered in disgust, scowling at the spider as it moved closer. 

The spider screeched again, eyes zeroing in on the elevator and running, screeching to high-heaven. Some of the members flinched, holding their ears in pain, but the salt-and-pepper haired man did not move. He held up his hands, a ring glinting on his fingers, and as it got closer, he began moving his hands. An orange, zapping light grew into a circle, the spider running through it with a squeal, five feet away from us. The orange faded and the doors closed, my body ready to give out as we moved up.

“Ooh, that was  _ fancy _ .” The salt-and-pepper haired male looked at me, unimpressed. I grinned. “ _ Now _ I know who you are. How is the Ancient One doing? Well, I call her Sandy, obviously, but haven’t seen her in a good five years. She’s a tough cookie.” His eyes widened with surprise before a sad and nostalgic look appeared in them. He opened his mouth but was cut off when the female Maximoff moved forward through the group and towards me.

“P-Pietro?” Maximoff whispered, her broken voice and scent of distressed Beta filled the elevator. I looked over at her, everyone else following as she stared down at the Alpha in my arms. She squeezed her way through the group, running a hand through his hair as tears filled her eyes. “He’s not supposed--the bond-,” she choked on her words, “-I don’t understand.” I nodded, handing the Alpha to his twin sister.

“Hydra most likely went through the rubble to find shit they could still use. I’m telling you, villainous organizations are turning incredibly cheap. Anyways, by the time he was revived and healed, you were long gone. The bond couldn’t stretch that far.” Wanda didn’t say anything, holding her brother with a surprising amount of strength. I turned back to Rogers, seeing his calming blue eyes raking me over with an assessing look. “Kaos was an outlier. They found him by accident; been trying to recreate his power for decades through experimentation with his DNA. Tried it on me a couple of times. Obviously, it didn’t work or I’d be hiding in Iceland.” 

“And where is this necromancer, now?” The salt-and-pepper man asked, raising an eyebrow. “He should be monitored. The balance between life and death should not be trampled on.” Maximoff tightened her hold around her brother, as if she was afraid the man would kill her brother again. Vision moved forward, wrapping his arms around the girl.

“Uh,” I drawled elegantly, trying to remember. “I  _ think  _ I blew him up in 2004, but he may have escaped. I’m not sure.” He gave me a scowl. “Don’t give me that look! He wasn’t my target, his Boss Man was. If I don’t get paid to kill/maim/burn/drown/bury/acidify/save/so on, then they tend to live.  _ And  _ I didn’t really care at the time. Besides, obviously, I did well because the male Maximoff is alive.” I gave him a smug look.

“He could be out there raising the dead,” Thor muttered, agitated. He looked over at Loki who stood near Rogers and Barnes, a stoic and thoughtful look on his face. “After we arrive home, Loki and I will need to find him. Necromancers are evil beings.” 

“Alright,” Stark said, raising his hands. “We’ll worry about that later. Right now, we need to get out of this shit-hole.” 

“We are going to the roof, right?” Banner asked, standing behind me next to Stark. I turned to him, nodding. “What is our mode of transportation?” 

“The best mode ever!” Peter cut in, his voice light with excitement. “It’s like a helicopter, submarine, plane, quinjet, spaceship, everything sy-fy and super cool in the form of a van.” I laughed at Peter’s explanation, the others turning to me with confused looks. 

“We’re taking a  _ van _ ? Off the roof of a building?” Wilson asked, gawking at me.

“Oh, please, you’re all going to  _ love  _ it.” The elevator stopped, dinging as the doors opened to the roof of the building. It had a singular heli-pad with a familiar black van on it. We walked out of the elevator, Rogers and Barnes leading the group. Peter walked forward, opening the van doors for everyone.

“How are we going to fit in here?” Wilson asked, confused.

“ _ Magic _ ,” I responded lightly, opening the driver’s door and taking off my leather jacket. “Get in, and buckle up. First aid kits on the chairs.” While some climbed in, the Alphas stayed out of the car -- Rogers and Barnes looking me up and down with scrutinizing eyes, Stark staring at my chest, and Loki and Thor ogling my muscled arms. I ignored them, rubbing the scent blocker on my forearms and neck until I noticed they were still not getting in the car. “Well? We don’t have all day; get in the van, people. Do I have to mention my pizza and five tubs of ice cream waiting for me, again?” Stark shook himself out of it, hopping into the van and saying a high  _ ‘ooh.’  _ I scoffed, shaking my head as I climbed into the front seat.

_ “Miss Circe,” _ Cerberus began, talking through the speakers in the car,  _ “it seems the guards you sedated woke up. They have notified Mr. Lee, and are now headed down to the cell-block. It would be highly advised that we begin to leave.” _ I tsked and shook my head.

“Sleeping on the job, are they? If I was Lee, I would definitely fire them. Unless they brought me food; then they’re forgiven.” Peter climbed in the passenger seat as the van door closed with a snap. “Cerberus, when they are in the cell with the illusion, initiate self-destruct.” The van began to creak and move like machinery as I pressed the hazard button, a few of them looking up at the ceiling in surprise. I pressed slowly on the gas, moving the side-stick as the propellers began moving, the van rising. “Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times. Should you feel the urge to puke, please swallow it down because I am  _ not  _ cleaning it up.” Peter was the only one who laughed loudly, making me giggle in return as I heard a few people chuckle in the back. “Petey, you’re my only fan. No one appreciates my sharp wit and awesomeness like you. Everyone buckled and ready to rock ‘n’ roll?” 

“Yes,” a few of them called back, Rogers and Wilson being the loudest. I nodded, monitoring the sky as the van began moving up faster. Stark and Dr. Banner began muttering to each other about the van as we started to leave, Peter looking over at me with a grin.

“That was easy,” Peter said, a small boom racking the building and the alarm going off seconds later. I laughed, pressing harder on the gas as Stark cursed.

“Kid, you jinxed us!” Stark exclaimed, making me laugh harder. 

“Cerberus, invisible, please,” I said after I could breathe. “What percentage are we at?” 

_ “Ninety percent, Miss Circe. I have charged it while you were away.”  _

“Alright, everyone. Where do you want me to drop you off?” It was silent as they looked at each other. I glanced in the rear-view mirror, seeing them mouthing words to each other with anxious expressions. Peter looked over at me, holding up my unfinished Dutch. “Fuck, I forgot to drink that. Thanks, Petey, baby.” I grabbed it from him, sucking the drink down rapidly. “Thank fuck it’s still cold. I would have  _ died _ .” Peter laughed.

“I can’t believe you forgot it,” he told me, grinning so wide I finally noticed his mask was off. “You were so excited to drink it, and you didn’t even finish it.” I smiled sheepishly.

“Cause I had to explain every, single,  _ button  _ to you, Curious George.” He barked out a laugh, nodding as he remembered it. I looked in the rearview mirrors, seeing searchlights on the weapon factory shining through the dark sky. “Alright, people. Now’s your chance. Tell me where, or I’ll drop you off in the middle of Nowhere, Alabama. Which, by the way, does not exist...I think.” I turned around, looking at them with a raised eyebrow, the Betas looking away so they were not involved. The eight Alphas, however, glared at each other before glaring at me (the two males I did not know and Romanoff were Alphas). I turned to Peter. “Guess it’s your house.” He shrugged and I sighed, turning back to the front. “Cerberus, input Peter’s address.”

_ “Inputting, Miss Circe. Initiate Warp Speed?”  _

“Yes!” Peter called out, raising his arms as high as he could without hitting the top of the van. “Initiate Warp Speed, Cerberus!” 

_ “Yes, young Peter.” _

I pushed down on the lever, pressing the side button as I laughed. Peter squealed with glee as the clouds went by in blur, the dark sky turning bright with sunlight as we got closer to the United States. The Avengers were yelling, Stark cursing to high-heaven, and Russian spilling from Romanoff and Barnes’ lips. Thor and Loki were growling, seeming agitated by the speed, and Barton was screaming his head off with Wilson. The only ones unconcerned with the speed were Vision and the (assumedly) African-American male (though he did have wide eyes). Within seconds, we were landing down on the country road Peter and I left on, the propellers going back into the van and the passengers calming down.

“That was so fun!” Peter exclaimed, turning to look at Stark. “Mr. Stark, wasn’t that fun?” Stark groaned, head between his knees.

“No, kid, not really.” 

~+~+~+~+~+~

The rest of the ride consisted of them talking amongst each other in low voices, making sure I was unable to hear. Out of the kindness of my heart, I turned on the radio and serenaded the young Omega next to me so it looked like we weren’t paying attention. Peter would laugh and serenade back as he put his extra change of clothes over his Spiderman suit, a long-sleeved hoodie and gloves doing a remarkably well job. We passed many places throughout New York, Peter pointing at spots where he stopped a mugging, saved a cat, or put out a fire. 

“Oh, I got a cool story,” I began, pointing at a run-down building with old and falling letters on top of it. “That was the women’s shelter I stayed at when I didn’t kill Fury. It was hella funny, Petey. There was a girl, there, named Claire and boy, she was  _ nuts _ . As in, her ex-boyfriend cheated, so she stabbed him fifty-seven times with a  _ pencil _ , nuts. She got arrested, he survived, but then we found out she was pregnant -- it was his but he didn’t want it.” 

“No,” Peter gasped dramatically. I nodded with mock seriousness.

“Oh, yeah. So after he got out of the hospital, the girls and I found him, stole his wallet and pulled out all of the money we could as child support. It was only, like, fifty-bucks, so it was anticlimactic, but man...I wonder how she’s doing.” Peter snorted, shaking his head. 

“Oh, my God,” I heard Stark groan to the others, “she’s bat-shit crazy and corrupting my fake-intern.” Peter didn’t seem to hear, rambling about how he pulled out three kittens from a druggie’s hands and ran with them. 

“And  _ that’s  _ where I mugged that guy for information on his boss,” Peter suddenly said, catching my attention. He blinked at me. “What? It’s a great story!” I rolled my eyes, motioning for him to continue. “So, I was stalking this guy in my Spiderman suit, and I scared the  _ crap  _ out of him. He was so scared that he was about to tell me where the next place his boss would be, but then  _ Deadpool  _ came and killed him. Ugh, he makes my blood boil with rage.” I laughed, shaking my head. “It was worse because right before he killed the guy, he asked him where the library was in Spanish. The guy was full-blown white, spoke only English -- I know because he looked at Deadpool like he was stupid.” I laughed hard, parking in front of Peter’s apartment. 

“Yeah, Deadpool’s the definition of a crackhead without being a crack addict. I believe he became sober two years ago. Something about his future mate maybe not liking crack. I tend to tune out his drug rants cause I can’t relate.” Peter laughed, a light blush coming to his face. “Alright, everyone off the bus! Please leave my comms behind, it takes me weeks to make  _ one  _ because I am a very busy woman.” They were silent as they put their coms on the center console, Peter and I sharing an amused look. 

“Thanks for taking me along with you, Circe.” His angelic smile was on his face. 

“Of course!” I opened my arms, pulling him into a hug, patting his back. “Good luck with the idiots.” He snickered into my hair. “Text me if you need me. We can go get tacos or--ooh!  _ Nachos _ .” He nodded, leaning back. “Do you have your bag? Clothes, suits, everything?” 

“Yes,  _ mom _ ,” he teased. I put a hand on my heart, giving him a scandalized look. 

“Careful, I’ll send you to your room.” He laughed and opened the door, grabbing his bag and putting it over his shoulder. He waved at me and shut the door gently, the Avengers huddling in a circle behind him, Stark on the phone with someone, talking fast. I waved back and began pulling out of the parking spot, moving slowly along the street. “Cerberus. Report.”

_ “It seems that they do not trust you, Miss Circe. Stark believes you are controlling young Peter, somehow, so they are becoming protective over their pup. Captain America and Winter Soldier have taken a liking to you, so has Loki, Thor, Dr. Banner, and Stark (though the last one refuses to admit it). You have gained a friend through the Maximoff twins and Vision, though Pietro is not awake.”  _ I nodded, humming to myself.  _ “They have engendered a plan to find out more information about you through Fury, Peter, and hacking into my system. Unfortunately, it seems Stark has taken one of the coms, though it remains turned off. He also took Peter’s phone during the drive, logging into his own network and having his AI, Friday, run diagnostics on the van. _ ” I sighed, rolling my eyes as I turned the corner. _ “That is all.”  _

“Great, thank you, Cerberus.” My body was feeling the stress of the mission, beginning to tense and grow sore; my Omega was angry I left Peter with them, but he was of their pack.

_ “You’re welcome, Miss Circe. And I hope you do not mind me saying, but I see the beginnings of a close friendship between the pack and yourself beginning to form.” _

“That is highly doubtful, Cerb, but thanks for trying to cheer me up.”

_ “You’re welcome, Miss Circe.” _

It took two weeks for Fury to come see me after the mission. Peter would text me, and we patrolled together often. Ned and I had become marvelous friends, and I gave him pointers on how to hack certain things. But he was much more fond of Cerberus, and often talked to the A.I. through a comm I lent him. I often asked for things from them in the beginning, due to them being nervous and wary, so they could ask me for things without worry in the future.  _ (As in, I helped you, so you should help me. My actions were purely instinctual; mother hen and all.) _ I fixed the problems with the stores -- the high-end brands making the price high and pocketing the difference, for which they were being sued and the money goes to Omega Foundations. Wade was ecstatic to receive Peter’s phone number, texting and calling him almost everyday to see how he was doing. Peter would blush when I brought Wade up during patrols. 

“So,” Fury said one night while I was working the bar, shocking me out of my stupor. “The Avengers have talked a lot about you.” I scoffed, turning to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Did you spill your guts?” I asked him. “Peter almost did; cried to me over the phone that they were asking him questions. I told him to cry in front of them and guilt trip them. Did it work?” Fury scoffed, nodding as he took a shot of whiskey. 

“Oh, yeah. I was there for that.” He let out a guttural chuckle. “Stark almost had an aneurysm. Did you know about the second gender?” I nodded once. “They didn’t. Scared them shitless when his scent overpowered their senses. They got him candy, made him dinner -- spoiled the poor kid till he stopped crying.”

“That makes me upset,” I stated, a frown on my face. “Peter wouldn’t tell me; said it would upset me, and that nothing bad happened.” Fury shrugged, knocking back another shot.

“Well, if it makes you feel better, when their backs were turned, he winked at me.” I barked out a laugh, watching as his face grew into a scowl. “He talks to me much more, now. I think he believes we’re friends because you two are.” He gave me a disapproving look.

“He is the son I’ve never wanted, but am glad to have.” He scoffed, shaking his head.

“Anyways, I’m here for another reason.” I raised my eyebrow, watching as he pulled out another file. “This one isn’t top secret. I heard you were invited to a presentation party.” I nodded, a frown on my lips. “Is there a  _ reason  _ for that?” I shrugged, my body tensing. 

“Trying to find your soulmate is difficult.” I got myself a shot of whiskey, knocking it back in one gulp. “Is there something you need there?”

“The Senator’s daughter is sixteen; Alpha-Female if I’ve ever seen one.” I nodded, taking the file and opening it. “I need any information she has on her father, spilling from her lips. I asked the Avengers, but they’re a little bit different. I’ve noticed that she takes a liking to…certain genders over others.” 

“Oh,” I cooed, a smirk forming on my lips. “Sounds like my kind of gal.” He rolled his eyes when I bit my lip and winked at him. “The party’s this Friday, you know. That’s only two days for me to plan accordingly.” I looked back up at him from the file. “Didn’t give me much time to prepare, Fury.” He shrugged, watching as I poured him another glass.

“Figured it’d be an easy one for you.” I sighed, my eyes roaming over the report.

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll go ahead and do this.” I closed the file with a snap, looking at him. “How much?” He shrugged, reaching into his pocket -- a laugh spilling from my lips as I took in the three hundred-dollar bills, a gift card to Dutch, and a gift card to Dominos. “Say less, Fury, say less.” I grabbed the stash, pocketing it quickly. He barked a harsh sounding laugh, knocked the rest of the glass back, and stood up. “Bye, sweetness. Come back when you get paid!” He shook his head, rolling his singular eye as I blew him a kiss. 

“So you’re buying dinner?” Wade asked, scooting over to sit in front of me, a naughty look on his face. “I was thinking of inviting the kid over, little one-on-one action.” It was the first time he joked about Peter in front of me, and my Omega snapped -- growling loudly at the surprised Alpha. He raised his hands. “Shit, sorry! I was kidding! Too soon?” I took in a deep breath, calming down.

“Sorry, Wade,” I apologized, smiling sheepishly. “I get...overprotective.” He nodded, gazing at me warily.

“Yeah...I can see that.” I sighed, a pout forming on my lips.

“He’s just...a really good kid; a kid I wouldn’t have minded birthing, you know?” He gave me a blank look and I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, Wade. But if you hurt him, I  _ will  _ kill you, friend or not.” Wade gave me a devilish grin, winking at me.

“Promise?”

“Promise, you fucking masochist.” He laughed, Weasel coming out from the back with a confused look on his face.

“What are you laughing about? What’d I miss?”

Two days later, I was getting dressed for the party when Peter called. I answered the phone, putting it on speaker while I looked between the two dresses I had picked out. I could hear scuffling on the other side of the line, but I paid no mind to it.

“Hi, Petey!” I called out, focused on the dresses.

“H-Hi, Circe,” Peter stuttered, sounding nervous. 

“What’s up?” 

“W-Well, I just wanted to see what you were doing?” Peter didn’t sound sure of his statement, but I ignored it, finally deciding on one of the dresses -- a white and nude one that showed off my breasts, along with the valley between them. Everything else would be covered in tulle and fabric for a whimsical looking dress. 

“Didn’t I tell you yesterday?” I teasingly asked, pulling the dress on. He let out a forced laugh, and I began to zip on my dress, looking in the mirror to make sure my breasts were in the right place. He remained silent and I turned to my phone, bringing it over to the vanity table. “Petey, you don’t sound so good. Are you sure you’re okay, dear?” 

“Y-Yeah, of course!” He forced out a laugh and I scoffed, rolling my eyes. 

“Then you won’t mind facetiming me while I put on my face, would you?” He was silent, and I could hear more scuffling and muttering on the other line. 

“Th-That’s fine! I’ll facetime you!” 

“Okay,” I began, but he hung up on me, waiting three minutes and calling me back. A frown tugged at my lips, and I wondered if he was being forced to call me.  _ Was he in danger? Did he get kidnapped? Is he being tortured by the Chinese to spill the beans on me? _ My blood ran cold, but I pushed the thoughts away, answering his facetime. “Whoa, Pete. What are you facetiming on, a television?” He laughed awkwardly.

“Yeah, I asked if I could use it.” I looked around the room he was in, a very modern, lounge style common room that I assumed was in the Avenger compound. I pursed my lips, wondering if he was being forced into talking to me so they could get information on me. “Wait, your hair. It’s brown!” I shook myself out of my thoughts, laughing and flipping my hair back with a hand.

“Sharp eyes, Curious George. While I am an  _ al-natural  _ brunette, I prefer looking like an Emo with daddy issues. I wear this wig when I’m not on missions.” Peter hummed, smiling at it.

“It looks really pretty.” I thanked him. “So, what are you doing, again?” 

“I was getting dressed, Petey, for the birthday party I wanted to go to.” I began my skin-care routine, talking idly to the boy. “Fury wants me to get information on a Senator through his daughter since she’s presenting as an Alpha. I don’t think it will pan out, but I’m following boss’s orders.” He looked off to the side.

“I-Is Fury your ‘boss,’ now?” I patted on my foundation, not really looking at the boy.

“You know me better than that, sweetie,” I teased, a smirk growing on my face. “But, to answer your question, Fury is only my boss when I take a mission. This is only the second one he gave me, and I doubt anything will come of  _ this  _ one, so I’m slightly hoping he’ll leave me alone. Maybe he’ll actually just come for a drink, next time.” I sighed, beginning on my eyebrows. “You know, Petey, I wonder sometimes why I take the ‘easy’ ones that I know will kick me in the ass.” He cocked his head in his adorable puppy manner.

“What do you mean?”

“Well,” I sighed, grabbing my eyeshadow pallet to begin on a pale-pink look. “The girl I have to get information from is attracted to Omegas. There will be many potential mates at that party, though I bet she’d like you a lot more.” He blushed, crossing his arms over his chest as if to deflect my words. I laughed. “I’m just kidding, Pete. I just meant that if she turned sixteen, today, and is an Alpha-Female, she’s going to be on the lookout for her mate. She may even go into a rut, and the party will be canceled. There’s a lot of factors that are going into this mission, and I am suspicious of Fury’s request.” Peter seemed to tense, but I could only see it from the corner of my eyes, putting fake eyelashes on to make my royal blue eyes pop. 

“Why would you think he has a motive?” Peter’s question was rather robotic, and it clicked. I turned to him, raising an eyebrow.  _ Were the Avengers snooping through Peter? Giving him questions to ask over a com or something?  _

“He gave the mission to me  _ two days  _ ago, Petey.” I grabbed my lip balm, running it over my lips. “Usually, I only take missions if I have a week or so to do them. Gives me time to research, strategize, whatever. And I mean, I was going anyways. Alpha-Females can be  _ hot _ .” I grabbed my liquid-lips and lip-gloss, furrowing my eyebrows in thought. “Peter, what do you think? Matte pink or shiny pink?” He gave me a bright smile, his amusement shining through in his eyes.

“How would I know?” I shrugged.

“Cause you’re a teenager who knows the ins-and-outs with females, along with having an Alpha-Female best friend. What would a teenage Alpha-Female like?” He scoffed.

“I’m a nerd with two friends that don’t care enough about makeup to even  _ talk  _ about it. I cannot help you with choosing a lipstick color.” I sighed, pouting as I turned back to my vanity. “But…,” I paused, watching as he sent a quick glare to someone behind the TV, and turned fully to him, “...the gloss would look better.” I gave him a toothy smile, laughter trying to bubble up in my gut. 

“Aww, thanks, Petey. I  _ knew  _ I could count on you in this dire time of need!” He scoffed, rolling his eyes and watching as I put the lip gloss on. “Now, Peter, you have to be very honest.” He nodded at my mock seriousness. I waved my hand, the phone rising and moving to follow me as I stood. “How do I look?” I did a slow twirl, grinning at his blushing face, his eyes looking over at someone else before turning back to me. “What? Too much boob for you?” He stuttered out a reply, a distant laughter reaching my ears, and I shook my head. “It’s okay, Peter. I know you aren’t attracted to me, no matter how great my boobs look in this dress. Or my ass. Goddamn, I look good.” 

“Oh, my God,” Peter groaned, putting his head in his hands. I laughed loudly at that one, rolling my eyes as I waved my hand, the phone coming back to me. 

“I gotta run, Pete. Chris is driving me to the party.” Peter seemed to tense, his eyes immediately shifting to the side.  _ Gotcha _ . “Okay, what are you looking at? You’ve been looking to the side this entire time! Are you hiding something from me, Petey?” His head snapped back to me, and he shook it vigorously.

“O-Of course not, Circe. It’s just…,” he trailed off, running a hand through his hair with a sheepish look. “Is Chris your...boyfriend? Or something?” I laughed, shaking my head.

“Ew, god, no. He’s my ‘bodyguard’ for when I’m at my other job.” He hummed, nodding and looking slightly relieved. I grinned mischievously at the boy, watching as his face paled. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s hot as fuck. I wouldn’t mind sharing a bed with him. He’s the only Alpha on my team, after all.” I heard a low growl coming from the video and watched as Peter’s eyes widened. 

“Okay, have fun, Circe! I’ll see you later!” I nodded, about to say ‘goodbye’ back, but he hung up. I stood there, dumbfounded.

** “He needs to learn some better manners. He’s done this to me  _ twice _ .”  
**


	4. "I Must Say, I Look Great for my Age."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “We do not wish to hurt you, but we cannot allow you to wander free.”
> 
> “As what? A mutant you can’t control, or an Omega you can’t control?”
> 
> “Unfortunately, it looks like both.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's so cute.  
> You think you're scary.  
> But mister,  
> I have seen scary,  
> And you ain't got his smile.
> 
> \-- Anonymous

Chris drove me to the birthday party. Many celebrities and politicians were there. The scent of Omegas was overpowering, so I made sure to bring an extra nose purifier and scent blocker, and the music was loud and vibrating. Chris opened the door for me and I stepped out, smiling at the reporters that instantly knew who I was. I hadn’t been out in public for a while, so I made sure to wave and smile more often.  _ (For a while, everyone wanted to know who the CEO of Omega Pharmaceuticals was, so I walked red carpets and had Omega Celebrities talk about my products.) _ I went up the steps and into the check-in. 

“Ms. Circe,” the Senator Noir greeted, his wife and him standing next to the guards checking everyone in. “It’s alright, she’s on the list.” The guards nodded and let me pass. I gave them a shy smile, shaking their hands politely. “We were surprised you wanted to speak to our daughter, first.” I nodded, giving them an actual genuinely hopeful look.

“Yes, it must have been a shock. I heard she was presenting, and there’s  _ rumors  _ going around that she was very Alpha-like before today.” He nodded, a proud look on the Beta’s face, though his eyes held a greedy look as they raked me up and down, ogling my boobs. 

“Yes, she has become a strong young woman,” Senator Noir agreed. “She’s this way. She’s very excited to meet you.” I nodded, following after them with a polite smile.

“Are you hoping she is your soulmate?” Amanda, his wife, asked curiously. She had the expression of a mother and it made my heart ache, but I could see the dull look in her eyes. It was common in Gammas who were abused by their spouses for not being fertile enough like an Omega, or strong enough like a Beta. I nodded.

“Yes, Ma’am. I’ve been looking for my soulmate for years.” A sad smile curled on my face, my eyes growing the longing look I perfected over the years. “I was...was hoping she might be the one. I know I’m meant for an  _ Alpha _ , but they’re difficult to find.” Amanda smiled politely, nodding her head.

“Richard and I understand that, don’t we, Richard?” He nodded, a forced smile on his face. His eyes were still eyeing me greedily, and held a sick longing. He turned to his wife with a dark look. 

“Yes, we do, Amanda.” He turned to me, a dark smile on his face. “We searched for each other for thirty years before we found each other. If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been looking, Miss Circe?” My smile wilted a bit.

“It feels like forty years, but it’s only been four.” Amanda gave me a small smile and glanced over at Richard. I pretended not to notice the sick look in his eyes that became almost smug when my bodily age was confirmed. The sixty-year-old man was obviously looking for a naive, young Omega that would skyrocket his reputation, and it made my stomach queasy. We continued to walk, ending up at a door in an empty hallway. Amanda knocked on the door, a slightly deep voice calling her in.

“Sweetheart,” Amanda began sweetly, opening the door, “you have a guest.” 

“Who?” A definitely female voice asked, catching my attention. Amanda and Richard walked in, myself following after a few seconds. The girl standing before me was olive-toned, shapely stature, curly black hair, and dressed in a black and white suit. She smelt of a powerful Alpha, but I could smell something else -- something her parents couldn’t pick up on due to being different genders. She looked at me, raising an eyebrow as my Omega scent filled the room. “An Omega?” 

“Yes,” I began, smiling gently, “I apologize for the intrusion. I am Circe, CEO of Omega Pharmaceuticals. I’ve been looking for my mate for a while, and when I heard you were presenting, I thought I would come and see if it was you. I hope that’s alright.” She nodded once, and though her face was stoic, she did give me a polite smile. 

“Dani, dear,” Richard began, motioning to me, “we’ll leave you two alone for a bit. The party is starting in twenty minutes. We’ll meet you there, okay?” She nodded, smiling at her father with an easy-going smile.

“Of course, dad.” They nodded, turning to me. I smiled, thanking them again, and watched as they left. We turned back to each other, Dani losing her polite smile. “You’re wasting your time, Miss Circe. I am not looking for a soulmate.” I nodded.

“I know.” She turned to me with a look of surprise on her face. “You have a... _ lingering _ scent surrounding you. It’s faint, but I know the scent of an aroused Omega when I smell it.” Her face went stone cold, and a look of fear filtered through her eyes. “I won’t tell. Not my place, and certainly not in my best interest.” I looked the young lady up and down. “What I said was true: I was hoping to see if you were my mate, but you’re not. If you were, you’d be ogling my boobs and taking me against the wall, claiming me before I had the chance to speak.” Her cheeks went bright red as she kept her eyes away from my chest. “You are very lucky to have found your mate so young.”

“Thanks,” she muttered after being silent for a couple of seconds. 

“None needed, Miss Noir.” I looked around the room, it was a dressing room with a vanity table and a bathroom off to the side. “You love her very deeply. What’s her name, if you don’t mind me asking?” She nodded, a loving look coming into her eyes.

“Her name’s Billie,” Dani’s voice turned smooth, making me smile. “She’s been my friend since we were children, but she’s older than me by two years. She presented as an Omega and I promised her that if I was an Alpha, we’d see if we were mates. We are.” I frowned, feeling the air tense as her fists clenched. “But my parents  _ can’t  _ find out.

“Do they not approve of her?” 

“No, they don’t.” Dani sighed and sat down on a cushioned chair. “Her family used to be rich, like us, but they got scammed. They were trying to donate to a good cause, and it went up in smoke. My parents didn’t help them when they needed it, and laughed at them behind their backs. Billie was the only one that wasn’t upset, and she worked hard to graduate highschool early to help her family out. She’s been donating her time to shelters, working three jobs to pay rent, and attending college online. I don’t know how she does it. She’s... _ amazing _ .” 

“Wow,” I said, nodding my head, impressed. “What does she want to be?” 

“She wants to be a publicist for a major company.” Dani grimaced, as if remembering something she didn’t want to think about. “I brought her up at dinner last week to talk about her aspirations, and my father berated me. He said they were happy I wouldn’t end up with someone who has  _ unrealistic  _ dreams.” Dani snapped her head over to me, gold irises shining through. “But what about  _ my  _ dreams? I want to be an artist. I want to paint the rest of my life, but he’s expecting me to be some big-shot CEO of a company I don’t want to run.” I nodded, moving closer to her and sitting in the chair across from her.

“In my experience, Dani, parents are difficult. My own were never there for me.” I wrung my hands together, taking in a deep breath. “I never liked to invent things, but when I hit sixteen, I suddenly had all of these ideas to make life better for Omegas. I wanted Omegas to have options -- scent blockers, nose purifiers, safe hormone pills, safe heat pills, everything I didn’t have but wanted desperately. That is why I started my company: I wanted to help others.” I reached out, placing a hand over hers. “And I see no issues with creating an artistic company -- maybe one that creates art supplies, sells paintings with beautiful meanings, and sponsors schools with art programs. One that is led by an Alpha with a strong love of painting, and a publicist with a sharp mind to reign them in. In a way, it caters to the wishes of your father, and your own.” She nodded, pursing her lips with an unsure look in her eyes.

“But what if they don’t support it?” Her voice was small and scared, and it made me want to protect her. “What if they disown me, or don’t want to help me start it up?” I shrugged.

“Then that’s their own fault.” She gave me a confused look, and I smirked. “They’ll be missing out on their only child’s success. They’ll have to listen to their friends talk about how their daughter is so artistic and great, and they’ll look like assholes for saying otherwise. Besides, if they don’t help you, financially, I see no issue with Omega Pharmaceuticals giving you grants and such.” She sat up straight, eyes widening. 

“You...you would help me startup my own company?”

“Of course!” I raised a hand, thinking it over. “Well, we’d have to get the paperwork settled, and all, but I see no issue.” I raised an eyebrow, leaning forward a little. “Your parents are  _ very  _ poor, compared to me, dear.” She smiled, tears in her eyes but refusing to let them fall. “Now, let’s make a pact, okay?” Dani nodded eagerly. “When you are making a speech for your birthday, I want you to tell everyone just how happy you are: one, you found your mate, Billie, early on and are completely in love; two, how you are going to follow your parents’ dreams of creating a company; and three, dropping the bomb that it is an artistic company that will be sponsored by numerous organizations. When your company is up and running, we’ll let it slip that O.P. helped you out, okay?”

“Okay, Circe,” Dani said, nodding vigorously. I smiled, standing up and pulling her up with me. I opened my arms and she rushed into them, giving me a hard hug and sniffling lightly. I patted her back, rubbing it like a mother would. 

“You’re going to do great. I know it.” I pulled away, winking at her. “Now, let’s go out there and give the stuck-up dickwads something to talk about.” She laughed, nodding.

“Yes, ma’am!” She held her arm out and I wrapped my own around it, following her as she led us out of the room. We walked towards the ballroom, with me muttering about how Senator Nelson’s wife wore caked on makeup to the party while I put in a nose purifier and rubbed on my scent gel. Now that I was sure she was not my mate, the purifier and gel would serve its purpose. I made her chuckle, and we talked amicably. Her parents were reeling with joy to see it, though Richard still carried the sick glee as his eyes landed on my boobs once again. 

“Dani!” Amanda called out, walking away from another Senator couple, Richard excusing them politely. “How did it go? Are you two mates?” Dani shook her head, feigning a disappointed look. I copied her look, a sad smile on my face. Amanda’s face fell, a fearful look entering her eyes as she glanced at her silently fuming husband. “Oh, goodness. I’m so sorry to hear that.” She turned to me, an apologetic look on her face. “I apologize, Miss Circe. We were hoping it would work out between you two.” I nodded thankfully.

“I was hoping, too, Mrs. Noir.” I patted Dani’s forearm. “But we had a good talk, and while we are not mates, I have a feeling we will be the best of friends. And that is all I can ask out of anyone.” Amanda looked smitten with me, nodding with a pleased smile on her face. Richard didn’t share his wife’s smitten look, his eyes distant with sick thoughts running through his mind. Ones that would most likely make my blood boil.

“Well, we hope you enjoy the party,” Richard began politely, “we have catering in the West corner, dancing in the middle, and seating set up all around.” I nodded, my eyes roaming around the room to take in the amount of people and desserts. 

“Perhaps Dani could introduce you to some of her friends.” Amanda looked pointedly at her daughter and she nodded diligently. I smiled, nodding gratefully to the older couple.

“Thank you very much for inviting me, Mr. and Mrs. Noir. The party looks very lovely, and I am excited to be here.” Richard had a smug smile on his face while Amanda forced her own. “Now, Dani, you said you had a couple of great friends here you could introduce me to.” Dani nodded, allowing me to grab onto her arm again. I nodded to her parents once again as we left, Dani almost vibrating with excitement.

“They are in love with you,” Dani said, giving me a look. “They won’t shut up about you after this party is over.” I shrugged, giving her a wink.

“Story of my life. Parents love me, but their kids never do.” She snorted out a laugh, making me chuckle. Finally, she introduced me to her main group of friends -- a black-haired male with sky blue eyes and many piercings, a blonde-haired blue-eyed girl with a typical cheerleader look, and a tinier version of the girl but with bright red hair and a whimsical dress with flowers. The first two were mated -- their eyes barely leaving each other to look somewhere else -- and the red-head was an Omega with smart eyes. When we walked up, all of their eyes narrowed on our linked arms, the red-head looking like a kicked puppy, eyeing my body with a look of insecurity for a quick second before she turned stoic. 

“Circe,” Dani began, oblivious to the Omega’s hurt and the other two’s annoyance, “this is my best friend, Damon, and his soulmate, Angelica. We’re graduating together this year, earlier than others because we’re too smart.” Dani and I laughed at her joke, but the others barely smiled. She didn’t notice, her eyes landing and softening on the remaining girl. “And this is Billie, Angelica’s older sister.” I nodded, turning to Billie with a wide smile, looking her up and down. She raised her chin, trying to be strong in an uncomfortable situation.

“Ah, yes. Your gorgeous soulmate.” Her eyes widened slightly, looking to Dani with confusion as the other two froze, surprised. “I apologize, Billie. I must have scared you a bit, holding Dani like that. Let’s start over.” I held out my well-manicured hand. “Hello, my name is Circe, and I love your dress. It fits you in all the right places. Goodness, I think your sister and yourself are the most beautiful at this party!  _ Please _ tell me someone has that in blue, because that would make my day.” Billie smiled brightly, a giggle escaping her lips.

“Thank you,” she said brightly, her voice child-like but also matter-of-fact. I had no doubt she could rip into a person like no tomorrow -- similar to Pepper. “It’s actually the first of its kind. Angelica wants to be a fashion designer.” My eyes widened, and I turned to the blushing girl with a grin.

“ _ Please _ , make me a blue one, I am dying over it!” I clasped my hands, begging the blonde girl. They all laughed, and Angelica nodded, a smile brightening her face. “This is exciting. Learning something new everyday!” I turned to Damon, pointing at him. “And what would you like to be? We got artist, fashion designer, and publicist.” He laughed, a blush tinting his cheeks -- though it was hard to tell in the darkening room. Dani put a hand on his shoulder, a proud look coming into her eyes.

“Damon wants to be an actor, already got a part in a commercial.” My eyes widened, looking between the two mates.

“Well, this is a match, then!” I motioned to the two of them. “Fashion designer mated to an actor is straight out of a cheesy Hallmark movie, and I am  _ here  _ for it.” I grinned at them, watching their smiles grow. 

“And what do  _ you  _ want to be?” Damon asked, his voice was deeper than I thought, but it had a calming effect only Betas could perfect. If I had to guess, Angelica was a Gamma, and both were completely in love. 

“Well, I never had any aspirations when I was a kid,” I told them, shrugging. “But when I hit sixteen and presented as an Omega, I would dream about making things to help other Omegas. So I created the company Omega Pharmaceuticals almost five years ago.” Billie gasped, her hand flying to her mouth in surprise. 

“You were all over the news last week,” Billie said, shocked. “You’re suing some of the higher chains for price inflation/gouging, aren’t you?” I nodded, a scowl overcoming my face.

“ _ Fuck _ yeah.” My words shocked them, though they chuckled at my words. “My scent blockers were supposed to be twenty bucks --  _ maybe  _ thirty -- and they raised the price to two hundred ‘because they didn’t have enough coming in’ which, by the way, is complete  _ bullshit  _ ‘cause we ship out thousands of those to that store chain, specifically. And looking at how much they sell, they have a lot sitting in the back collecting dust. I hate those mother-,” I put a hand over my mouth, growling, “sorry. I get emotional when idiots think they can pull one over on an Omega.” They laughed, Billie grinning widely and moving closer to me.

“I like you,” she said boldly, linking her arm with mine. “Are you, perhaps, looking for a publicist?” I raised an eyebrow at her joking question.

“Well, if you’re offering.” Her face went bright red with surprise, making me laugh. “Though-,” I glanced over at Dani, “-I believe Dani would want your publicist skills more.” 

“Wait, what?” Damon asked, catching everyone’s attention. He turned to Dani with wide eyes. “Dude, are you doing the company thing?” She nodded once, a small smirk on her face. “But I thought you wanted to be an artist?” Dani nodded again, and Damon ran a hand through his inky black hair. “Then what the hell is going on?” 

“I’m going to start my own company,” Dani said, a grin growing on her face. “It’s going to be an art company. I can sell my own art, manufacture and sell paint and shit, sponsor art classes for schools. I haven’t worked out the finer parts, yet, but Billie can be my publicist and we can run a great company.” I put up a finger.

“Makeup is a growing industry, too,” I told Dani, watching her eyes light up with consideration. “Maybe that can be part of it, too. Art is art, no matter what form it takes.” Damon blinked at me, turning back to Dani.

“How are you going to start it up?” Angelica asked, worried. Her grip tightened around Damon’s own. “We want to help you, Dani, but college is coming, and you know your parents won’t help you start a business without going to business school. Especially after knowing it’s an art company.” Her worried scent reached me, and before Dani could speak up, I cut in.

“Billie, you work three jobs, right?” Billie blinked, looking shocked, but nodded nonetheless. “And what about you, Angelica?” She frowned, but nodded.

“Our parents can’t pay for my fashion school idea.” She glanced over at Damon. “They weren’t happy Damon and I mated at a young age, and Billie has to pay for her own schooling. I was thinking of taking a gap year, get some money for school.” I hummed, nodding. 

“Billie, dear.” I looked at the dress, again. “Could I touch your dress?” She blinked, but stuttered out a ‘yes’ and I could feel their eyes on me as I felt the fabric. It was similar to tulle, but softer, and the sleeves were sheer. The flowers were embroidered on, and there were no rough edges on it. “Does it make you itch at all?” She shook her head and I nodded. I turned to Angelica. “If you make me this dress, preferably in royal blue, I will pay you fifty grand.” Angelica gasped, hands flying to her mouth. “That should cover the first and second semesters, unless they raised the prices again.”

“Wait, really?” She asked, tears filling her eyes. I nodded, a grin on my face. She rushed forward, wrapping her arms around me in a tight hug. “Oh, my God. Thank you, thank you!” She cried into my shoulder and I patted her back, letting her breathe in my scent to calm down.

“Of course, dear.” She began to move back and I smiled, turning to Billie. “If I have a paid-intern job available for a publicist, you will be called first. First-hand experience is always the best way to go about difficult and time consuming jobs. But other than that, I can pay off your student loans.” Billie froze, tears spilling from her eyes. I wrapped my arm around her, pulling her into a gentle hug. “And if you need someone to back you in Hollywood, Damon, let me know.” I winked at the shocked Beta. “Money gets you a lot of shit in Hollywood.” 

“That sounds great,” Damon muttered, looking worried. “But...what’s the catch?” Angelica gasped, hitting Damon on his arm. Billie glared at him, and I moved her so she was closer to Dani, her body moving in Dani’s arms. “It’s an honest question. We are getting these offers from someone we don’t know, and she doesn’t know us. Why would she want to pay for our dreams when our parents won’t?” I nodded, giving them an easy-going smile.

“Well, Damon, you are right,” I conceded, turning to look at Dani and Billie. “There is a secret motive I have -- a simple question. One that I don’t want you to feel pressured to answer.” They tensed, looking unsure. “My offers will stand, even if you refuse to answer, but I want you to know that I understand shitty parents better than anyone else here.” Dani nodded, going stoic.

“What is it you want to know?” 

“Dani. Is your father doing something illegal?” They all tensed, their eyes widening. Dani glanced over at Damon and then at Billie.

“Can we not talk here?” I nodded, nodding to the door leading out to the empty hallway we were in. The group led the way, whispering to each other while I trailed behind them, my eyes running over the crowd. My heart almost stopped when I saw a familiar face among the crowd, but he was gone in a flash, and I shook it off.  _ No way they knew what party I was going to. _ “It should be good here.” Dani opened a door to a parlor room, outfitted with plush chairs and couches. The others sat down on the chairs, Dani standing next to a sitting Billie, holding her hand. I sat on the couch, crossing my legs with my purse on my lap.

“Why do you think Mr. Noir is doing something illegal?” Damon asked, voice firm and questioning. 

“A man I work with told me Mr. Noir could be doing some illegal activities, and he wanted me to find out for sure. Since I was coming to the party, anyway, I figured it might be a good idea to ask.” Damon stared me down, but turned to Dani with a nod, deciding I was truthful. Dani squeezed Billie’s hand. 

“I’m not really my dad’s daughter,” Dani said suddenly, catching my attention. “My mom and dad aren’t soulmates, and when she found hers, she wanted to leave him. He didn’t want her to, so he hired men to kill her soulmate. But she was already pregnant with me, and she played it off as if I was his. I don’t think he knows, yet, and I don’t know what he will do to either of us if he finds out.” She glanced down at Billie, calming down at the sight of her assuring face. “My dad has been accepting bribes from corporations to pass or deny bills. Recently, though, he has been writing bills to evoke Omega rights. Damon’s dad, Senator Romans, has been trying to fight it, but my dad’s bribed some of the other senators to sign it.” I scowled. 

“Dickwad.” My muttered word made Dani crack a smile, but the others remained silent, brooding over it. “Who are the Senators he has bribed?” He rattled off names, and I categorized them in my head. “I am going to ask you a difficult question, Dani.” She nodded. “How do you want Mr. Noir to pay for his crimes? Do you want it public, or do you want it quiet?” She looked unsure, and Damon didn’t look happy about it, either. “I have some friends in high places. If I leak information regarding your father’s transgressions, it could change how your family is viewed. But if I do it quietly, your family will  _ never  _ be the same.” A look of understanding passed over their faces and Damon stood up, eyes flashing red with his Beta.

“The quiet option.” His words shocked his friends, Dani turning on him her golden ones, a growl escaping her lips. “After all of the shit he’s done, he deserves it. Passing laws that harm others is disgraceful, and he shouldn’t be a Senator.” Dani stayed quiet, unsure.

“This is a difficult decision. Not one to take lightly.” I made my voice soft and understanding. “And if you choose the quiet option, it will not be on you, Dani. I don’t want you to feel guilty or upset, because I know a terrible father when I see one. And I can deal out Karma  _ very  _ well.” She bit her lip but nodded.

“The quiet one.” 

“Okay.” I stood up, a smirk on my face. “I believe this has dampened the mood.” Dani cracked another smile. “I’m sorry to have brought it up, but this is for the best. My offers to all of you still stand. Enjoy the party.” I walked to the door, the others standing up as well.

“Are you leaving so early?” Billie asked, sounding sad. 

“Well, I was thinking about it. I already left my gift on the gift table, and all. I hope you like video games.” I turned back to them with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk. “Why?” Billie came forward, grabbing my hand.

“There’s pizza. Why don’t we get some?” She began pulling me out of the room before I could say anything, and I didn’t stop her.

“Sounds nice.”

The group of us grabbed two of the pizza boxes, taking it to one of the tables where we ate it all. Angelica and Damon were quite the jokers, making me laugh at the weirdest moments. I watched the group interact, smiling softly at the lovey-dovey looks they had in their eyes. Slowly, but surely, time began to pass and the politicians were getting ready to leave. 

“Miss Noir,” a bald man said, butting into the conversation Dani and Billie were having. He ignored us all, keeping his eyes on Dani. “Your father requests your presence to give your birthday speech.” Dani nodded, turning back to us to excuse herself. I noticed the bald man’s eyes zero in on Billie, a disgusted look coming to his face. A low growl escaped my lips, and everyone turned to me, the bald man and I connecting eyes. He seemed startled, sniffing but unable to figure out what I was. 

“Dani, dear,” I began, my face stoic as my eyes narrowed on the male. “Who is your friend?” I didn’t look at Dani as I heard her gulp, looking between the two of us.

“Sorry, Circe. This is a close friend of my father’s, one of his advisors, Mr. Roma. Mr. Roma, this is Circe.” He nodded at me, but turned back to Dani.

“ _ Now _ , Miss Noir.” He walked away, Dani sighing as she followed him. I glared at the man’s back as he walked away, only stopping when Billie grabbed onto my hand. I turned to her, seeing her worried face. 

“He was glaring at you like you were filth,” I fumed, my face growing an angry hue. Taking a deep breath, I calmed myself and simply stated: “I do not like him.” They nodded and gladly moved onto the new topic.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” A familiar voice asked a few minutes later. It made me freeze, my new friends’ eyes widening in shock. “I knew I smelt your scent around here, Circe.” I slowly turned, seeing some of the Avengers -- Stark smirking smugly, Rogers and Barnes staring me down, and Thor and Loki crossing their arms, looking around the room. 

“Gentlemen,” I said politely, “if I knew you were going to be here, I would have refused to come.” Stark put a hand over his heart, dramatically. 

“Oh, my poor heart, whatever shall we do?” He looked up at the others. “If you’ll excuse us, we need to steal her for a bit.” I sighed, turning back to the others. 

“Sorry, you guys. Hopefully, I’ll see you later.” They gave me a smile, Billie waving once with her eyes still wide with shock. I stood up, smoothing down my dress as Stark grabbed my forearm, gently tugging me through the gawking crowd. I kept my polite smile on until we reached another empty hallway, and another empty room. I walked into the room, slightly surprised to see Romanoff, Barton, and Wilson sitting on a couch. The seating was situated in a square-like formation, a singular chair on three sides and a couch on the other. I raised an eyebrow but said nothing as I sat down in one of the chairs, crossing my legs underneath my dress and setting my clutch on my lap. “What do you want?”

“To talk,” Rogers stated firmly, sitting down in the chair across from me. Barnes stood behind him with crossed arms. Stark sat in the chair kitty-cornered to both of us, facing the couch with the three others on it, with -- surprise, surprise -- Dr. Banner standing behind him. Thor and Loki stood closer to the door, as if to block me from leaving. 

“Oh? About what, exactly?” I asked, keeping my face stoic. Stark pulled out a file, throwing it on the coffee table in front of us.

“ _ You _ .” It was silent, and they looked at me expectantly. I remained where I was, turning my head to an unperturbed Stark with a raised eyebrow. “I did some digging on you, Circe. Couldn’t find much, but what I did find I thought was rather interesting.” 

“Do enlighten the class, Stark.” 

“The women’s shelter,” Romanoff began, making me turn to her. “It had been open for many years, but it closed down in 1996. We went through their public records, and no one under the name ‘Circe’ lived there. But your story of Claire Styles checked out: stabbed her ex fifty-seven times, got pregnant, and had the baby in 1997. Claire’s dead, by the way.” I tsked, shaking my head.

“Too bad.” Romanoff stared me down, waiting for something. I raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t you want to know how?” Barton asked, sounding confused. 

“Not really, no. But I have a feeling you’re leading up to it.” Wilson scoffed, rolling his eyes as Barton pursed his lips, looking at Romanoff. She remained impassive, just staring at me.

“She became homeless,” Romanoff continued. “No one wanted a pregnant woman, so she gave the baby up for adoption and overdosed on heroin.” 

“Now,  _ that  _ doesn't sound like the Claire I remember,” I said thoughtfully. “Thank you for telling me, it’s very much appreciated.” My voice was dry, and they were unamused.

“What name did you go by while at the shelter?” Rogers asked, taking control of the interrogation. I shrugged.

“Don’t remember. Been a while.” Barnes growled, eyes flashing gold, and I gave him a sickly sweet smile. Rogers pursed his lips, taking in a deep breath to calm himself.

“Fine, then. Something easier: what is your date of birth?” I furrowed my eyebrows, cocking my head as I thought about it, their eyes on me.

“I’m not  _ entirely  _ sure, but I believe it was October of 1955.” Their eyes widened and I shrugged, waving my hand nonchalantly. “Give or take a few months.” I grinned at them. “My memory just isn’t what it used to be.” Barton snorted in amusement and I snapped my fingers, pointing at him with a mischievous smile. “Boom, look at that. I must be hilarious if Mr. Grumpy Pants is trying to hide his laughter!” Some were too curious to respond, and Dr. Banner watched me closely with surprised eyes. 

“You’re sixty-two?” Dr. Banner asked. I gave him a devilish smile, nodding once.

“And I must say, I look  _ great  _ for my age.” His face went red and he shifted in his spot. Barnes stepped forward, catching my attention.

“Were you given the Super Soldier Serum?” He asked, eyes staring into my own. 

“Yes.” Barnes and Rogers looked at each other, the others turning to each other and muttering low enough in an effort to hide something from me. I pretended like I was thinking, cocking my head to the left as I stared up at the ceiling in thought. “When I was forty.” They paused, turning to me with confusion. I looked at Barnes and Rogers, raising an eyebrow. “When I was forty, they gave me the Super Soldier Serum. It was a pain in the ass! Took three days for them to get  _ any  _ sort of progress, the dumbasses.” Barnes and Rogers turned back to each other, muttering quicker than before and nodding to Dr. Banner. He came forward and began whispering to them, covering his mouth so I couldn’t read his lips. I rolled my eyes and looked at my nails, already bored out of my mind.

“Okay, then,” Stark said, catching my attention. He had a curious expression, though his eyes held something I couldn’t place. “Peter had some information to share.” I nodded nonchalantly. “He said you are the CEO of Omega Pharmaceuticals.” 

“Is there a question in there somewhere?” I looked off to the side, not enjoying my life. Thor growled, sounding annoyed, but I ignored him. Barton cleared his throat, and I sighed.

“Omega Pharmaceuticals began pushing out products almost five years ago,” Barton said, hesitant to start anything. “But with the amount of product being pushed out, many believed they had been in the works for many years. But with the new CEO running everything, no one could get a definite answer. Are you the CEO of Omega Pharmaceuticals?” 

“Yes.” I turned back to looking at the two Betas, one Alpha on the couch. “Not to be rude, but you guys are really boring. Is there anything else you would like to know so that I can fucking  _ leave _ ?” The two Super Soldiers and Doctor finally turned to me, an annoyed look in Barnes’ eyes as Dr. Banner stepped forward, a curious expression on his face once again.

“Yes, actually.” Dr. Banner set down the scent blockers on the table, along with the heat pills. “I bought some of your products, doing my own research. They showed a myriad of different combinations of chemicals and organic elements, but one stood out. These are made with fully organic material.” 

“Yes.” My reply was slow and I looked at the man with uncertainty.  _ Where are they going with this?  _ “My heat pills are made with organic plant matter and encased in a chemical that helps alleviate pain. They are able to curb the pain of heats and allow the Omega full function of their body without the fear of the pain overwhelming them. As for the scent blockers, chemicals only irritate the skin. Organic material can work on almost everyone, and if there is an allergic reaction, we create specialized products to make sure that Omega gets what they need. Paired with the heat pills, they are very effective at hiding one’s heat.” A few of them nodded, though Dr. Banner had a growing smile on his face and a look in his eyes that I couldn’t place.

“That’s nice of you,” Rogers complimented. I snorted, rolling my eyes.

“It is the difference between  _ rape  _ and making it home to a family. Of course I’m going to do that. I see no one else making medicinal items to protect Omegas. It’s bullshit. Omegas are the second most popular gender, and no one can make a non-irritating scent blocker? Like, what the fuck? Are people  _ stupid _ ?” They went silent, the room growing tense as my angry Omega scent filled the room. I took a deep breath to calm myself. “Okay, now, I’ve entertained your ridiculous questions that I do not need to answer. So, I am going to be polite and ask only once: why are you  _ really  _ here?” They looked at each other, Romanoff staring me down in annoyance. “Alright, Romanoff, get over yourself, because you’re beginning to piss me the fuck off.” Their eyes went wide in surprise, her own turning gold in anger. “What’s your problem?”

“ _ You _ are my problem,” she snarled, tensing. “You come out of nowhere to ‘save us’ from the Chinese, but you bring along a kid -- an  _ Omega _ , who you met the day before -- to a dangerous facility where he could be killed. And casually bringing up you were trained by Barnes?” She scoffed, leaning back in her seat. “Like I said, we don’t work with Hydra  _ scum _ .” I was silent, processing her words as her face turned smug. 

“At least I didn’t get captured by a Chinese, Pre-Iron Man Tony Stark.” Her eyes went bright gold and she stood up, snarling in anger. Barton and Wilson grabbed her, holding her back from attacking me. I scoffed, standing up in return. “Let her go, children. See if she could beat me in a fight when she couldn’t protect her pack from a regular human.” She screeched, lunging at me with fury flaming in her golden eyes, only to be stopped by Barnes and Rogers. They stood in front of her, pushing her back down into her seat. A hand was on my bare shoulder, tingles erupting where it laid, and I was pushed back down into my own seat. I didn’t flinch, scoffing as Thor stood next to me, watching me with a displeased expression.

“Both of you, stop it,” Rogers barked, glaring at both of us. I rolled my eyes, unfazed by his annoyance. Romanoff growled but remained seated, glaring at me a death glare. Barnes stayed near them, but Rogers sat down. “Miss Circe, we are asking these questions due to Fury’s insistence.” I looked at him, raising an eyebrow in surprise. “ _ Most _ of us, along with Fury, would like you to join the Avengers.” 

I laughed very loudly, a belly-aching laugh that made tears come to my eyes. I heard Romanoff growl, yelling about something, but I was laughing too hard to care. I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down as I wiped tears away.

“That was hilarious,” I sniffled, fanning my face and looking up at the unamused faces before me. Barnes was holding Romanoff back, again, but I didn’t pay attention to it. Rogers raised an eyebrow, and remained stoic. “Good joke, guys. Good one.” 

“I assure you, Lady Circe,” Loki said, catching my attention. “They are quite serious about you joining.” My smile dropped and my head snapped back to Rogers, leaning forward.

“Are you serious?” He nodded. I blinked in shock and fell back against my seat, my thoughts running a mile a minute as I stared at the table. Pursing my lips, I looked back up at them. “Okay, well. Unfortunately, I am going to decline your well-thought-out offer.” I stood up, moving to leave, Thor moving to stand in front of me. I sighed, turning back to Rogers. “I am not joining your crew of sparkling patriotism.” 

“And why not?” Romanoff asked condescendingly. “Too good for us?” 

“No, but I’ll explain it nice and slow for you to understand.” My sickly sweet smile made her growl, Barnes unmoving as she struggled against him. “One, I have two jobs already: CEO and mercenary. I have to continue inventing items because my brain doesn’t stop, and there are evil men and women that need to be murdered, which frankly, I  _ enjoy  _ doing. I have no room for a third.” She scoffed, a scowl still on her gorgeous face. I dropped the smile and turned into the strong CEO that was great at negotiation. My change in attitude made them look at each other, but I kept my eyes on Romanoff, her face dropping into a stoic expression as her eyes ran over me, appraisingly. “Secondly, none of you trust me as far as you could throw me. Which, by simply  _ looking  _ at the two Super Soldiers and two demi-gods, I am sure you could throw me pretty fucking far. Last I heard, you work as a team. If you cannot trust me, and I cannot trust you, how effective do you think this team will be?” It was silent as my words sunk into them. “How many lives are you willing to lose because I won’t agree with one of your plans, or refuse to follow orders?” Romanoff’s eyes looked unsure and I turned away from her, sighing as I stood. “It was nice, I suppose, for you all to ask, but it’s a firm ‘no.’” The Alphas before me didn’t look pleased, Stark watching me with a pleased smirk and lustful eyes. I tried not to focus on that.

“That’s unfortunate, then,” Stark said, standing up. “Because we weren’t asking. You’re coming with us one way or the other, sweet cheeks.” I blinked, watching idly as he took out a tranquilizer gun, shooting me in the chest and right above my heart. I could feel the sedatives going into my system, but it was too low of a dosage to work; HYDRA enforced a high tolerance for many types of drugs.

“Ow, you dick! Right in the boob.” I plucked it out, throwing it on the ground as they watched, surprised. “I really don’t want to get pissed right now, Stark, so if you could not try that again, that would be great.” I stepped around Thor and walked to the door, Loki stepping in front of me, this time. I groaned, annoyed at the gall these men had -- and Romanoff. I heard the tranq gun go off again, darts hitting my back multiple times. I tensed, feeling the tranqs stop. I looked at Loki, his face surprised but eyes apologetic. He held his arms out, as if waiting for me to fall into them like a pathetic Omega. “I remember now why I hate Alphas.” I reached behind me, grabbing the tranqs and dropping them to the ground. I missed a couple, but I wasn’t worried as I turned around, my eyes zeroing in on Rogers, his hand wrapped tightly on the tranq gun. “Didn’t I tell you to not piss me off? Do I need to remind you who dragged your sorry asses out of that playboy mansion?” My anger permeated the air, the Alphas becoming brave and not flinching back like the Betas did. The three Betas looked between all of us with tense faces.

“Come with us, Lady Circe,” Thor pleaded calmly, stepping forward with a soft and open expression. “We do not wish to hurt you, but we cannot allow you to wander free.” I scoffed.

“As what? A  _ mutant  _ you can’t control, or an  _ Omega  _ you can’t control?”

“Unfortunately, it looks like both.” 


	5. "Quit Staring at Her Boobs, Capsicle."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “The only reason this Tower is not rumble, right now, is because Peter resides in it. But I have obviously made a grievous mistake at becoming Peter’s friend. I will not make that mistake again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would kill a thousand men,  
> Before I let one  
> Make me his slave.
> 
> \-- Anonymous

Hello, everyone!

Before you read, I want to make a few notes of things I feel are important.

1\. Each chapter is fourteen to sixteen pages long.

2\. I had over four chapter written out before I posted the first chapter, but I didn't like how the story was going, so I added a few parts.

3\. I am still writing those parts (lol), so there will be a couple days between posting of this story (unfortunately).

4\. My character, Circe, is strong-willed, but she is dramatic. So some of the things written in here can be cringe-y and bring forth second-hand embarrassment. I am trying to make sure I convey her twisting emotions, but sometimes it can be difficult.

5\. I added a tag -- a non-cannon one -- due to the fact that as much as I love the Avengers, I cannot sound like Tony Stark or Captain America, like some other authors on this website (trust me, I _have_ read their work and I love it). Thor and Loki are easy because I love Shakespeare, so I can roll around in that for a bit. However, I know it can be upsetting when you read because my characters may not portray the Avengers as well as I want, so feel free to read a different story or comment dialogue suggestions that I could use in the future.

6\. As you might have noticed, I use dialogue from the chapter as like a "cliff hanger" in the chapter summary. And the quotes below it in the notes are just ones I think fit with the story. Of course, I find most of them on Pinterest, so if it says "-- Anonymous" like today's, it is due to their name not being on the Pinterest board I was looking at. If you recognize the quote and the rightful author, please let me know in the comments! :) 

7\. Thank you for reading! I really appreciate it! It's been a hot minute since I have written fanfiction, so please bear with me on the updates.

(P.S.: I have around three other stories in the works with the Avengers and will, hopefully, be publishing them soon.) 

**Chapter Five:**

Dr. Banner’s words processed, but before I could say anything, ice cold fingers were on my forehead and my eyesight went black. My knees collapsed from under me and I fell forward, arms circling around me to hold me up as my body slipped into unconsciousness. My mind stayed awake, whirling with annoyance, and I tried to force my body to move. It was stock-still, neither a finger or eyebrow moved to display my annoyance. I heard some of them sigh, a new set of arms coming over to pluck the tranqs out of my back and pick me up, holding me in their arms bridal-style. 

“Quit staring at her boobs, Capsicle.” Stark said it jokingly, but the room was still tense. The man holding me, Rogers, scoffed. My cheek was pressed into his warm chest, his heart thudding against my face as his arms tightened around me, his left hand resting on my stomach.

“I wasn’t, Stark. Only you did that.” 

“Uh, I doubt that. Thor and Loki thoroughly enjoyed watching her from afar.” 

“Whatever.” Dr. Banner sounded like he was rolling his eyes. “We need to clean up and get out of here. That group of kids will look for her.” I heard one of them growl, muttering under their breath as they picked up the tranqs and other items, the smell of cleaning supplies tickling my nose. It would have been enough for me to sneeze, but the purifier was doing its job.

“It’s clean,” Barton said, voice sounding tense. “We should get going. Nat worked herself up again. She’s gonna blow if she doesn’t see Darcy, soon.” _Darcy? I wonder if that’s their remaining mate?_ Rogers sighed, another body coming to stand next to me.

“Alright, let’s go.” 

The group began to walk, Rogers’ orders followed to the ‘T’ by the pack. I began to wonder why they wanted me on the team, my body refusing to acknowledge my brain. Regardless of the fact I was an Omega, I _did_ hint that I was a part of HYDRA. They would want to keep an eye on me due to that. Another reason could be Peter -- he was young and impressionable. I most likely made a negative first impression on the Avengers, making them protective of their youngest member. I underestimated their bond with Peter, so it may have been my own fault at growing so close to the boy. _You also underestimated the fact that they would want to get to know the person that pulled them out of that hellhole. And, you know, sliced her throat open._ I would have pouted at my harsh conscience, but I was incapacitated. I pushed the thoughts away, feeling Rogers’ hold on me begin to jostle slightly as they went out a door, cold air hitting my skin. I heard doors being opened, and they began to climb in, Rogers handing me to Barnes -- if the cold arm was anything to go by -- before climbing in after.

“I’m going to call Pepper,” Stark announced, sounding as if he was sitting in the front seat. “See if her suite is ready.” Inwardly, I raised an eyebrow, curious as to what they meant. _Was it a prison cell where they would chain me up and feed me when weeks passed? Rape me until I passed out like when I was a child?_ I started to get distressed, but calmed myself down, my head resting uncomfortably against Barnes’ flesh shoulder. 

“I _still_ think she should be locked up. She was a part of HYDRA. Still could be as an assassin,” Romanoff muttered, sounding far off. Rogers sighed, his breath moving pieces of my hair. Barnes’ metal hand brushed the strands out of my face, making me wonder if he was staring at my face. Or my boobs. 

“We already discussed this, Nat. We need her close to watch her. Thor and Loki are the logical choice. Besides, Buck and I are going to be down the hall.” Romanoff growled at Rogers’ words, the scent of annoyed Alpha filling the car.

“I don’t know why she pisses me off so much.” Romanoff’s voice sounded upset, and I inwardly raised an eyebrow, curious about the Alpha-Bitch.

“You’re protecting your pack against an unknown entity, Nat. She’s pushing all of your buttons -- whether consciously or not -- and then acts like nothing affects her,” Wilson said, acting as if it answered her questions. “You don’t leave a toxic situation and end up okay. I doubt she saw a therapist after she left HYDRA.” _Fuck you, Birdbrain/Mrs. Grumpy Pants. Doctor Linda would firmly disagree, and with the state I was in when I showed up on her doorstep, she’s done a lot of work to make this unstable brain slightly stable_. One of them sighed.

“That’s why you insisted she have her own kitchen, right?” Dr. Banner asked, sounding like he was sitting on the other side of Rogers and receiving silence in return. I assumed he nodded, as Dr. Banner continued, “then she can stay in the room as long as she wants.”

“What about her other profession?” Loki asked, his voice coming from the seat behind me. “The...medicinal company? And her ‘bodyguard’?” Someone hummed in response.

“Well, I guess it’s going to be on hold for a while,” Stark finally responded, sounding nonchalant. “I doubt she has any _big_ projects coming up.” _That fucker._

“ _Stark_ , she’s suing that high-chain company,” Wilson said, sounding exasperated, I agreed vehemntly in my head, sending him a big ‘fuck you.’ “She’ll have to be there for that, but I’m sure she’ll allow some of us to go with her to the court.” 

“At least young Pietro will be happy,” Thor suddenly boomed, talking loudly from his spot next to Loki to be heard by the others. Barnes twitched at the loudness, but said nothing. “He has been quite distraught since he awoke -- asking for her. Do you think she is young Pietro’s soulmate, as well?” My heart pounded painfully in my chest. _‘As well’? What the hell does he mean by that?_ Rogers sighed before I could think more on it.

“I don’t know, big guy,” Rogers said, sounding dejected. “I don’t understand how she could be ours and _not_ realize it.” My eyebrows finally twitched down in confusion, Barnes smoothing the wrinkles out with his thumb. A breath I didn’t realize I was holding was released, and the car went silent. They were quiet for a long time, and I almost fell asleep to Barnes' heartbeat -- weird how I _just_ noticed its soft beating in my left ear -- when one of them spoke.

“Well, she’s emotionally scarred from her past.” Wilson was quiet as he said it. “It could be insitictual to ignore any Alpha that comes her way. She most likely has symptoms of PTSD.” Dr. Banner sighed, agitated.

“But to not know when she’s in the presence of her six soulmates?” He growled, the scent of an upset Gamma filling the air. “That’s just _astounding_ and very annoying.” Romanoff sighed from up front, the car turning onto a rocky path.

“Regardless of being soulmates, she is _dangerous_ . She could have gotten Peter _hurt_. Hell, she tried to kill Fury under HYDRA’s influence. If she has episodes where she goes back to being under HYDRA's control, then she would have to be subdued. And we do not know enough about her to consider her worthy of the pack.” Romanoff’s voice was strong, but it agitated the Alphas and Beta in the car, Barnes’ arms tightening on me as he growled. None of them said anything, but I could sense the understanding running through their bonds. 

I was new and dangerous. I refused to trust them and, in turn, they couldn’t trust me.

I drifted off seconds later, falling asleep with questions roaming around my mind, and woke up (mentally) when they were getting out of the car. I was held gently by a new set of arms, as if I was precious, and it felt weird. No one had held me like that before (I distinctly remember being dragged by my hair or ankles a few times), but these Avengers acted as if I was important to them in some way. I ignored my thoughts, feeling their body heat grow as we entered an elevator, a dinging released when we landed on the correct floor. I heard mumbling, a low growl escaping someone’s throat. 

“What are you doing?” A deep, unfamiliar and accented voice asked, sounding angry. “Why are you carrying her? She’s _mine_.” My eyebrows furrowed again, and my body was held tighter by the man. Rogers sighed.

“Pietro, we need to have a talk after we put her to bed,” Rogers said calmly. It was silent and they began moving again. _Oh, so it was the Alpha I saved? So I am his mate, as well?_

“What did you do to her?” Wanda Maximoff asked, sounding more curious than worried. 

“I put her to sleep. Lady Circe did not want to come willingly, so measures had to be taken.” Loki’s words made one of them growl -- Pietro, I assumed -- and the female hummed.

“Asleep, huh?” It was silent, eyes falling on me. Muttering began again and Loki’s ice cold fingers were on my forehead. The darkness seeped through me, growing thicker, but I didn’t move. My mind was calm, but listening; they just didn’t seem to notice -- other than Wanda. 

“Her body is asleep,” Loki concluded, stepping back. “Do you see something different, young Witch?” It was silent, and I could feel a pressure against my head. I pushed back violently, hating mental manipulations, and it backed off.

“No, I don’t. Sorry, I thought I heard stray thoughts. Must have been Pietro.” Pietro grumbled, but no one commented, a mass wave of relief falling from their shoulders. 

“Tony,” a feminine voice said, catching my attention. “Her room is ready.” 

“Awesome, thanks Pep.” The man holding me, one I assumed to be Thor, began walking somewhere -- maybe a hallway? -- when the lady spoke up.

“Are you going to leave her in that?” ‘Pep’ asked, sounding scandalized. Someone had covered my chest with a jacket, but my shoes were still on, and my head was aching from the wig. “You said she was wearing a wig. You can’t let her sleep in that.” The group grew tense, making her sigh. “Thor, drop her off in her room and I’ll take care of her.” Her heels began clacking away, Thor following after her quickly, my body unmoving in his arms. She muttered at how ‘barbaric’ the Avengers were, and I began to notice that we would be great friends. 

There was the sound of keys unlocking a door, the smell of fresh paint reaching my nose as Thor walked into the room. Within three steps, I was being laid gently on the bed, Thor moving to stand next to me. Pepper (if I remembered correctly from the car) walked into the room, setting something on the nightstand next to me, the wood knocking against something metal. _A key, maybe?_

“You can go ahead and leave, Thor. I’ll take care of her.” 

“I know you will, Lady Pepper,” Thor said softly. “Lady Circe is...the most beautiful lady I have seen in a long time. To know the Fates gifted my brother and I, and our comrades, a glorious and strong mate, makes my heart warm with pride. But this...plan my allies have created makes me nauseous. It is not in our ways to kidnap mates. What if she hates us for it?” 

My heart pounded at his sweet words, and if my blood could rush to my face, I bet my face would be a cherry. _No man had ever said that to me before, but he was of another realm -- almost another time. Of course, he and Loki would be the sweeter ones of the bunch._ My brain stopped those thoughts, bitter disgust filling me. _Why would I think that? I am meant to die alone, and that is how I shall go -- without soulmates._ Those thoughts upset me, as well. I had been looking for a soulmate for years -- since I thought I was over my childhood trauma. _Was I so broken that I was denying myself a chance to be happy?_ Pepper sighed, snapping me out of my dark thoughts.

“Women are difficult, Thor,” Pepper said finally. “I cannot guarantee that she will be okay with being kidnapped -- many women would not find that appealing -- but I think that if she got to know all of you, and realize who she was to you, everything would go smoothly.” She went silent, sending soothing Beta sounds through the room. “I’m sure she will fall in love with all of you, sooner rather than later.” 

“Thank you, Lady Pepper.” She was silent and I felt him kneel down next to the bed. “Goodbye, Lady Circe. Hopefully, I shall see you in the morning.” With a chaste kiss on my cheek, Thor stood up and strode out of the room. “Take care of her, Lady Pepper.”

“Of course. Goodbye, Thor.” She closed the door and was next to me seconds later, patting my head like a child. “I hope you don’t mind them too much when you awake. Men are idiots when they are in love.” Pepper snorted at her own joke, beginning to take my shoes off. She moved up to my hair, muttering under her breath as she realized it was a lace wig. “Luckily, we have a solution for that. When Tony said you were wearing a wig and they were planning to ask you, I had Friday look up the best solvents to remove the wigs. I just never thought I would be doing it.” She chuckled lightly, walking away and coming back minutes later while shaking a bottle. She began spraying it on the lace part of the wig, and slowly it began to peel off. I marveled at how well she was doing, feeling her move my head gently to get all of the lace. “There, we go.” The wig was finally off and she took off the nylon cap I was using, running a hand through my tangled mess that smelled of honey from my earlier shower. 

“Alright,” she muttered later on. “Let’s get this dress off.” She moved the jacket out of the way, whistling as her eyes landed on my breasts. Turning me on my side, she unzipped my dress, pulling it off with consideration to the fabric. “I bet Tony stared at your breasts a lot, didn’t he?” She chuckled under her breath, pulling it gently down my legs. “Steve and he are boob men. Pretty sure Bruce is all about brains, and Barnes could possibly be both an ass and boob man. Don’t know much about Loki and Thor, or Pietro.” Amusement filled me, and my eyes would have rolled in amusement. “Such _pigs_ , I know. Alright, let’s find you some clothes. I bought nightgowns for you, as I wasn’t sure what you would like. Don’t worry, they’re not granny ones.” She opened a drawer, pulled out a nightgown and came back, lifting my head to put the nightgown on me, covering my chest as she put my arms through it, moving it down to my thighs. “Phew. There we go.” She moved the blankets around, covering me in a silk-like cocoon of blankets. I heard her rustling around, most likely hanging the dress up in the closet and placing the wig somewhere.

I tried to make my fingers move, but they wouldn’t -- my eyebrows twitching with irritation. _Loki might have added time onto his spell, making my body reject my demands. I would have to grow an immunity to this stupid spell,_ I grumbled to myself. I heard Pepper walk back into the room, a sigh escaping her lips as she walked to my bed. She caressed my face once before walking to the door, turning off the light.

“Good night, Circe.” 

The door closed with a click and I took in deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I had much to think about. My Omega scent had been hidden after Dani proved to be a dead end, but they found me rather easily, considering it was one person they were looking for. _Could they really be the soulmates I have been looking for?_ I wondered. The memory of the tingles and butterflies I felt when I broke them out of the Chinese Billionaire's home popped into my mind. I felt self-loathing build up within me. _Of course they were my soulmates. How could I have not known?_ _It would make sense that I would have not known, considering my nose purifiers were always in my nose. They were clear, and many times, people couldn’t see them -- or notice them. They hid scents from me, meaning the Avengers’ scents were filtered out of my nose, not registering as mates._ I felt dread curl into my stomach. In a way, it should have been obvious to Peter. He felt like Stark was his dad, and like I was his mom. Many pups feel that way regarding their parents -- you know, other than myself. _If they are my soulmates, then I made one of the worst impressions I could have made._ I sighed, my heart aching with embarrassment and pain, a thought occuring to me.

 _In a way, Romanoff was right in hating me. In her Alpha’s mind, I was being cruel, refusing to acknowledge my soulmates; her pack. It could have come across like I was rejecting them, without meaning to. But I couldn’t suddenly act like I knew they were my soulmates. Besides, I wasn’t sure. I would have to take out the nose purifier and breathe in their scents._ That thought sent tremors of fear into me. I had made the nose purifier weeks after I left HYDRA. Scents of Alphas set me off, and I would tremble in fear. Having the purifier in, I was completely fine. I could determine who was what, and how to get away from them without being worried. I have taken the purifier out before, being completely fine around Wade’s Alpha and Weasel’s Beta, but these were ( _potentially_ ) my soulmates -- and more Alphas than I knew how to deal with. 

_I don’t know what to do._

When I awoke next, it was early the following morning -- sunlight shining through the window-wall. Opening my eyes, I stared at the ceiling above me, the white color making me question. The ceiling in my room was blue, along with the walls. I lifted my head, my eyes roaming around the room. It was rather chic and modern, but it didn’t carry any of my specific tastes. I sighed, laying my head back down as the memory of the previous night hit me. 

_Those fuckers kidnapped me,_ I growled inwardly, anger filling me once again. I took a deep breath to calm myself, rolling my eyes in annoyance. _Mates my ass. I just smell good to them, that’s it. No way I would have hella hot mates -- the Universe hates me._

 _“Miss Circe?”_ A female voice called out, making my heart stutter in my chest. _“I am FRIDAY, Mr. Stark’s AI. It is currently ten thirty-eight in the morning. Boss has been notified that you are awake, and the Avengers would like to speak with you.”_

“I see,” I began politely, sitting up in the bed. “It is nice to meet you, FRIDAY. I have an AI of my own. His name is Cerberus. Has he been in contact with you?” It was silent.

 _“Yes, Miss Circe,”_ she replied, sounding as robotic as my own. _“He has requested you be released immediately, due to your company becoming worried.”_ I hummed, nodding to myself. I stood up and stretched my body, hearing a few relaxing pops.

After that, I began walking around the room, contemplating my escape and the items I had on hand to do so. My clutch was nowhere in sight -- probably taken by the Avengers -- but my dress was hanging up in the closet, my wig placed on a bust to keep its natural state. The dressers and nightstands were empty, other than numerous sets of lingerie that I had not chosen. Other than the slightly filled closet with clothes I have never worn, the room was plain and simple. The bathroom was big, like the closet, but held nothing noteworthy like my own at home. I walked out of the bedroom and into the living room my room apparently had. It was nauseatingly simple, too, and the kitchenette reminded me of Chris’ brother’s apartment _(which I helped buy because he was a Gamma in a tough spot)_. The only great thing about the kitchen was that the fridge and pantry was full of food and dishware. 

My stomach rumbled when I took in the freezer that held multiple Olive Garden frozen meals. _I didn’t know they made freezer food_ , I thought idly. I shrugged and picked up the first one, reading the directions. Once I finished cooking and eating, I allowed myself to think.

_Circe’s High Priority List:_

  * _Get a phone/laptop/communication device._


  * Contact Fury about the Mission.


  * Contact Cerberus.


  * Get out of this hellhole.


  * Hopefully, die along the way.



I nodded to myself and looked up at the ceiling. 

“Miss FRIDAY,” I began politely and calmly, “I request my telephone, please.” The ceiling AI was silent. A negative feeling was bubbling in my stomach as I waited.

_“Unfortunately, Miss Circe,”_ FRIDAY began, sounding apologetic, _“the Avengers Team have decided unanimously to not give you any electronics without supervision due to your supreme computer skills.”_ My lips twitched into a frown as a scowl overcame my face. _“However, should you need to call someone, I have been allowed to call them for you. However, the call will be recorded and reviewed by the team.”_ I couldn’t stop the snarling growl that ripped from my lips, standing up from the kitchen table and pacing around the living room. I took in a deep breath to calm myself. 

“Fine,” I snapped, running my tongue over my teeth and rethinking my plan. “I would like to see Nick Fury immediately.” 

_“Of course, Miss Circe,”_ FRIDAY responded immediately. _“I will inform him to meet you in your new quarters. Is that acceptable?”_

“Yes. Thank you.” 

Two hours later, there was a knock on my door. After FRIDAY graciously told me it was Fury, I moved the furniture I put in front of the door to unlock and open it. Fury was standing there alone, a stoic expression on his face as he took in my form. I had changed into simple jeans and a t-shirt from the closet while I waited. Silently, I moved out of the way and allowed the equally silent male into the living room. Once the door was shut and locked, I moved the furniture back into their original positions to make sure it was difficult for even a super soldier to enter the room. When I finally turned to Fury, he looked contemplative and thoughtful. 

“How much have you told them?” I asked calmly, though a strong glare was on my face. He remained impassive.

“Nothing more than what I told you last time we spoke,” he replied, eyeing my form before he moved to sit at the kitchen table. I followed behind him at a safe distance, sitting across from him. “Why have you called for me?” I clenched my jaw.

“I assumed I would have to debrief you on the mission you gave me.” He raised his eyebrow and I understood. “I see. So it was a setup. You don’t care about the Senator.” He shrugged nonchalantly, crossing his legs. I licked my lips, anger welling up within me. “Why did you send me into a trap?” 

“Because the Avengers want you on their team. And after seeing you single handedly -- more or less -- bring them back in one piece, I was inclined to agree.” He stated it as if it were simple. “Seeing as you are here in the Tower, it worked.” My eyes twitched. 

“It... _worked_ ?” He nodded, his singular eyebrow still raised. I looked off to the side, scoffing. Jumping up and out of my seat, I grabbed him by his shirt and threw him into the opposite wall, a snarl falling from my lips. He hit the wall with a sharp thud and fell to the ground, groaning in pain. “I should have killed you all those years ago, Fury. Or at least, let the Avengers _rot_ by the playboy they were too _weak_ to defeat.” I slowly walked towards him, his eye looking at me with emotions I wasn’t bothering to detect. “They _kidnapped_ me and brought me to this hellhole. It did not _work_ , you fucking asshole, it only made me fucking _angry_.” I grabbed his shirt and raised him to press him against the wall. He looked confused and surprised, his eye moving in panicked motions as he processed what I said. “Tell me why I should not kill you.”

“I didn’t know,” he replied quickly. I raised my eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. “The plan was that they would ask you to join. I had my doubts that you would agree, but then I showed up and Romanoff said you came willingly. I didn’t know they kidnapped you.” I laughed harshly, shaking my head. Taking a deep breath, I showed him my Omega’s white eyes and grinned at his flinch. I leaned in closer, ensnaring him with my eyes as though he were a snake.

“The only reason this Tower is not rumble, right now,” I began with a scathing, furious tone, “is because _Peter_ resides in it.” I moved back and dropped him, watching as he landed on his feet and brushed off his shirt. “I have obviously made a grievous mistake at becoming Peter’s friend. I will not make that mistake again.” I turned my back to him and waved my hand, too angry and mentally exhausted to physically remove the items from in front of the door. “Now, _get out_.” He hesitated but strode to the door nonetheless, a look I couldn’t place on his face. 

When he was gone, I moved the furniture back with another wave of my hand before diving into the whiskey cupboard. I grabbed the full bottle and uncorked it, chugging down half of it. While I could not get drunk off of it due to the Super Soldier Serum, the burn in the back of my throat allowed me to feel something. I pulled a kitchen chair to the floor to ceiling window overlooking the bustling city. I stayed there, lost to my thoughts, until the sun was setting. A few people had knocked on the door, their voices muffled so I could not tell who they were, but they did not enter.

“FRIDAY. Call Cerberus.” I took another swig of the almost empty Jack Daniels. The AI was silent for a few moments until ringing began overhead. 

“ _FRIDAY_ ,” Cerberus’ familiar voice said through the speakers, sounding outrageously annoyed. _“If this is not a phone call from my creator, I will not hear of it. I have already been in contact with O.P.’s security and lawyers. Should she not be released within the day, we will be forced to respond with violence.”_ I smirked, proud of my AI.

“It’s me, Cerberus,” I replied loudly, cutting him off mid-rant. He went silent.

 _“Miss Circe.”_ He sounded relieved though suddenly wary. _“I have called your phone numerous times, along with this Tower. I have stated my grievances to both Virginia Potts and Tony Stark. Unfortunately, they have refused to release you.”_

“Cerberus,” I interrupted before he got lost in anger. “While I would love to engage in this infuriating subject, I have other matters that need to be taken care of post haste.” 

_“Yes, Miss Circe. What can I help you with today?”_

“First thing’s first,” I took another swig of whiskey, “initiatie Arceus.” 

_“Yes, Miss Circe.”_

Arceus was a project I had been working on for three years, named after my favorite Pokemon (of course). Oftentimes, I put aside O.P. projects to complete it when sudden bouts of inspiration came about. It was designed to be my strongest firewall that could stop hacking from over a hundred different entities with a hundred different methods. I had finished it a few days after I saved the Avengers, but I haven’t had the need for it until today. With the firewall running, Stark and his cronies would be unable to hack into Cerberus and take our secrets or search our servers (which were kept off site of O.P.). I smirked to myself, a smug sense of satisfaction building in my gut.

“Secondly, how are our publicists doing?”

 _“Quite well, Miss Circe. I have had pictures leaked of the Avengers accosting you. They are all worried for your safety, but are waiting to release a statement of your whereabouts in case you are released.”_ I chuckled at that, crossing my legs imperiously as I watched the cars move along the street. 

“Are there any intern spots open with our top three publicists?” 

_“We do not take interns in the publicist sector, Miss Circe.”_ I frowned.

“You are right. I forgot about that.” I hummed, licking my lips. “We do, now. Could you be a doll and ask if they would do me a personal favor and take an aspiring publicist as an intern? She’s a very smart Omega, and I would like to see her grow.” 

He was silent, either calling or emailing the top three publicists I had employed -- one male Gamma, one female Gamma, and one nonbinary Beta. The other five publicists were exemplary as well, but they were focused on singular projects they enjoyed doing. And with Billie wanting to become Dani’s head publicist, she would need to know from the best in the industry -- and I prided myself on hiring the best. 

_“Mrs. Hall would gladly take on an intern,”_ Cerberus suddenly said, dragging me out of my thoughts. _“She has a few projects that require fresh eyes.”_

“ _Wonderful_ .” I swirled the bottle of whiskey in my hands and took the last swig of it. “Have my lawyers, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Abernathy, set up a meeting with Mrs. Hall, Ms. Cortez, and Mr. Hamilton. She should receive the same benefits and pay the other interns get -- the fixed salary and all that jazz -- and have O.P. pay off her student loans, as well.” _(Mr. Hamilton is my main accountant.)_

 _“Yes, Miss Circe.”_ I stood up, walking to the alcohol cabinet and grabbing a bottle of vodka and the gallon bottle of orange juice from the fridge.

“Thirdly, I need my other lawyers, Mr. O’Keefe and Mrs. Brown, to contact Daniella Noir. She is going to start up an artistic company, which O.P. will be sponsoring. I want some of my board members there, as well. If Mr. Hamilton can make it as well, that would be great, but if he is unable to, that is fine.” I twisted open the bottle of vodka and OJ, gulping down a burning mouthful before the tangy orange. Cerberus replied to me, but I ignored him, lost in my thoughts of worry. My heart was twisting painfully as I thought about what next to do, if I wanted to go through with it. 

_“Is there anything else, Miss Circe?”_ I jumped, looking off to the side and sighing.

“Yes, Cerberus.” I took in a deep breath, steeling my nerves. “It seems Nick Fury and Peter Parker are no longer on our side. Remove them from our servers.” There was a tense silence and I gulped another mouthful of vodka down.

 _“Are you sure, Miss Circe?”_ Cerberus was calm, but I could sense the underlying worry. _“Young Peter and yourself are...quite close.”_ I scoffed.

“Don’t question my dramatics, Cerberus,” I snapped, my face turning into a scowl.

_“Yes, Ma’am. And what of Ned Leeds?”_

“Remove him, too.” I forgot the chaser once again as I gulped down the burning alcohol, grimacing slightly in doing so. “We will not be affiliated with any _vigilantes_ close to the Avengers until further notice.” I bit my lip as I watched Peter swing across the buildings, going up to land on the balcony of the Tower. 

_“Yes, Miss Circe.”_ There was a click as Cerberus stopped the phone call. I smirked, leaning back in my chair as I swirled the vodka bottle. 

“FRIDAY, be a doll and let Stark know that he has terrible taste in alcohol. Jack Daniels is a racist company and, with him having multiple African-American friends, I must question his own morals.” I laughed darkly as the A.I. replied that she would.

Thirty minutes later, Peter was at my door, knocking repeatedly. After I refused, I could hear Stark’s stressed out Alpha standing outside of my door, banging on it. I walked into my kitchen, thinking about what to make for dinner when the noise began to annoy me. 

“FRIDAY, play songs about friends betraying friends.”

 _“Yes, Miss Circe.”_ Rhianna’s _Take a Bow_ began to play softly, but I had her turn it up until I couldn’t hear the two banging on my door or calling for me. 

With the banging faded, I peacefully began making myself dinner. Peter was out there for a couple hours until he was pulled away. Unfortunately, I doubted the lightness of my heart when I turned in for the night. My heart began aching and my breathing turned rapid, my lungs not taking in as much air as they needed. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm my anxiety attack, but failed to do so -- crying myself to unconsciousness. 

Five more days passed of a similar routine: I made myself breakfast, sat near the window to think and wait everything out, talked to Cerberus about work stuff, made myself dinner, and cried myself to sleep. Some days, I managed to spice things up -- eat lunch instead of breakfast, take a bath or excessively long shower, and play music very loud whenever someone came by that I didn’t want to talk to. I was able to keep Cerberus and my company at bay with the statement of my whereabouts. I wanted to see how far this went; how shitty they can screw up. 

Most of the time, I only spoke to FRIDAY about random things -- much like I did with Cerberus when he was a “baby.” She was younger than Cerberus, but due to her job with the Avengers and Stark, she had different viewpoints than Cerberus. It was _enlightening_. 

Stark consistently left messages asking for me to come out of my living quarters to speak to them, but I refused. Rogers and Barnes constantly knocked politely, speaking from the hallway in an effort for me to open the door. Unfortunately for them, I turned up my music and sent them on their way. Banner and Stark also tried to get in by offering Chinese or Mexican take-out. They were severely disappointed when I ignored them, as well.

Thor, Loki, and Pietro were told to stay away, apparently. FRIDAY had told me that the group decided to split up the time because they didn’t agree with the kidnapping. The first week would be for the kidnappers and the second for the three that didn’t believe in it. _I don’t care. I won’t let them in either way_ , I thought angrily as I chopped up vegetables for a broth. Thor’s words, however, flowed through my head and made my cheeks turn red. _Fine. Maybe them, but they have to work for it._ I sniffed haughtily. 

_“Miss Circe,”_ FRIDAY began, catching my attention and making me pause. _“I apologize for interrupting your meal preparation, but an urgent mission for the Avengers has arisen.”_ I hummed in response, rolling my eyes and continuing mutilating the vegetables with renewed vigor. _“It seems they would like to speak to you,_ **_immediately_ ** _, about the issue.”_

“Can you relay a message to them for me, FRIDAY?” The AI replied that she could and I smirked, chopping an uncooked carrot. “Please let them know that they can rot in Hell.” 

_“Yes, Miss Circe.”_ I huffed to myself and began throwing all of the vegetables into the pot for my broth. It was silent for a whopping two minutes before there was a pounding on my door. _“Apologize, Miss Circe, but it seems they must speak with you.”_ I groaned, turning to the still furniture-blocked doorway.

“Go away!” I yelled out. “I’m a very busy woman who has no time to socialize or help you with my kidnappers’ problems!” It was silent and I could hear them talking outside the door. Suddenly, the door was blasted open, the hinges breaking as the door and furniture were thrown to the other side of the room. I heard a few satisfying cracks and raised an eyebrow, watching as a slightly angered Thor stepped through the doorway with his brother behind him, an expression showing his disapproval. “Oh, good. You broke a few. Thanks for that, they were ugly as shit.” I turned back to my cooking, grabbing the measuring pitcher to grab some water. 

When I turned around, they were both next to me, eyes roaming my normal-clothed body (jeans and t-shirt once again). The Assassin part of me thought they were looking for either injuries, weapons, or weaknesses to exploit. The other part of me, the one that wanted soulmates, thought they were looking me over because it had been a long time since they had seen me. (Which most likely annoyed their inner-Alphas.) I kept my eyebrow raised, looking at them.

“Well?” Thor blinked and straightened, clearing his throat. Loki clenched his jaw and stood up straighter, readying himself for a fight. 

“Your presence is required in the conference room, Lady Circe,” Thor said calmly yet sternly. I gave them a sickly sweet smile.

“Once again, Thor, I do not talk to kidnappers.” My white Omega eyes flashed and his jaw clenched, Loki grinding his teeth as a lustful look appeared on his face. **“You either get out, or I will throw you out. Your choice.”** Loki blinked, shaking himself out of his lustful daze. 

“Unfortunately, Lady Circe,” Loki began just as calmly as his brother, “we really must insist that you come with us to the conference room.” I took in a deep breath to calm my anger and set down my measuring pitcher near the sink. 

“Why?” Thor and Loki looked at each other.

“We don’t know,” Thor conceded, Loki closing his eyes and sighing in distress at his brother’s ill-thought-out words. “Director Fury and Captain Rogers asked us to bring you.” A scowl grew on my face at the mentioned names. Loki whirled around to look at Thor, holding up a finger with an annoyed look.

“ _Quiet_ , you oaf.” Thor frowned but remained silent. Loki turned back to me with a forced smile, holding out his arms. “Lady Circe, a mission has arisen that we require your help with. We would be very appreciative if you came with us.” His voice was smooth and I could tell he was putting his “Princely Charm” into his words to make them charming. I wasn’t impressed.

“Ah, I see.” I leaned against the counter, eyeing them up and down. “Well, who am I to deny your request when you asked so politely.” I gave them a fake smile before dropping it. “Get out. And do us all a favor, and don’t come back.” It was silent as Thor took in a deep breath, Loki clenching his jaw as he thought of what to do next. 

Finally, Thor sighed and stormed across the six feet distance. I stepped back to get into a fighting stance, but he was quick. In one swift motion, he had his arms behind my legs and back to pull me up into his arms. I gasped, my eyes widening as Thor held me close to his chest with tightening arms. I looked up at him with shock and annoyance. 

“What the _hell_ are you doing?” I snarled, struggling against his hold. 

“Carrying you to the conference room.” His arms tightened around me, almost crushing me into his chest. I huffed, stilling myself in my annoyance. Loki was grinning when I looked at him, and I glared at him as Thor began walking out of the room.

“One word out of you, Loki, and I will kill you.”

“Yes, Lady Circe,” Loki replied teasingly. I snapped my head over to him.

“What did I say? One word, and you’re dead!” I struggled dramatically against Thor’s arms. “When I get out of his Hulk grip, you and me are going to have a _talk_ , buddy.” His grin widened mischievously and he nodded, eyeing me lustfully once again.

“Of course, Lady Circe.” Thor laughed jovially at Loki’s purr-like voice. “We can _talk_ as long as you wish.” I looked up at Thor with dramatically wide eyes with mock-fear, seeing his wide grin as he looked between the two of us.

“I changed my mind, we aren’t going to have that talk.” Thor let out another boisterous laugh. “I have a feeling we are not on the same page for this _talk_.” Loki chuckled behind me.


	6. "I was the One who was Assigned to Kill Them."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I always knew you’d be a great actor."
> 
> Or:
> 
> “You didn’t lose it, did you? You knew right where it was the entire time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You merely adopted  
> The Darkness.  
> I was born into it.
> 
> \-- Anonymous 
> 
> Or:
> 
> I am the daughter  
> Of a King  
> Who forgot my name.
> 
> \-- L.L. Tyrrell

When we entered the elevator, I huffed and struggled to cross my arms over my chest and cross my ankles. We rode in relative silence, the elevator music playing an orchestral version of Stark’s rock music. The red floor numbers flashed by as the elevator ascended a few floors, opening to a long hallway that held the various scents of the team. Thor and Loki wasted no time, walking briskly and elegantly down the hallway and towards a doorway that needed a thumb scan to open. Thor pressed his thumb on it and, seconds later, the doors split open and the two demi-gods walked in. 

I kept an annoyed expression as I took in the room: everyone, except the Black Panther and Doctor Strange that I had saved, were in the room. A few were standing around the room but most of them were sitting at a round table. Heads immediately snapped over to us when my scent permeated the room, Peter standing up unsteadily as he took the three of us in. Rogers and Stark were on either side of him, Stark placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder in an effort to comfort him. Unfortunately for him, Peter shook his hand off, his face gaunt and eyes rimmed with red. A sharp stab of guilt hit me, but I replaced it with annoyance. It is the Avengers’ fault, not mine.

“Circe,” Fury greeted calmly, acting as if I didn’t try to kill him almost a week before. “Nice of you to join us.” I rolled my eyes as Thor set me on my feet. 

“Whatever.” I pulled out an empty rolling chair and sat down, the two demi-gods standing a few feet away from me as if to stop me should I try to escape. “What do you want, Fury?” Romanoff huffed, Barton gripping her hand tightly in an effort to calm her down. Fury glanced over at Stark and Rogers, but I refused to look at them. I could feel an anxiety filled tension begin to grow in the room, and the Maximoff twins were trying to catch my eyes. But I kept my eyes on the one-eyed Pirate. He took out a remote and pressed a button, the lights dimming and holographic images popped up. With a quick glance around the room, I noticed that everyone was focused; none of them, other than perhaps Captain Rogers, were debriefed.

“There is a Hydra Cell in California that we have reason to believe is planning to attack the Governor during his trip to Los Angeles for a conference,” Fury said, the images moving to show the Governor of California and a building situated in the desert -- a _very large_ building that looked to be in the middle of nowhere. “This is their base of operations, situated in the desert area around LA. We have an inside source that has sent us schematics of the building, and the experiments they have been doing, there.” He ran his eye over the group as he paused for dramatic suspense. “The reason we need everyone on deck is due to the significant amount of former Winter Soldiers-,” Barnes flinched back, eyes becoming distant, “-roaming around the building as guards, and some experimented animals similar to the Spider you all encountered in China.” I made a disgusted sound but did not make any other movement, assessing the picture that held a list of experiment numbers. As I was higher up on the food chain in the W.S. Program, I had seen the numbers assigned to experiments. Over ten of them on this list were secret codes regarding the Winter Soldiers, but the other ten were the experimented ones. They ranged from animals, plants, and humans; sometimes a mixture, like a werewolf or something. 

I knew who most of them were, personally; especially the last experiment listed.

“Your mission is shutting the HYDRA Cell down. _Permanently_.”

The lights were turned back up to their usual brightness as the team began brainstorming. Rogers and Stark were going over the building schematics, Dr. Banner was asking Barnes if he knew any of the experiments’ codes that could help them during the fight, and Romanoff, Barton and Wilson were asking Fury questions to discern the mission better. Thor, Loki, Peter and Rhodes were more interested in the building schematics and the plan-making, so they were hanging around Rogers and Stark. The twins and Vision hesitated for a moment before diving into helping Dr. Banner and Barnes figure out who was a W.S. and who wasn’t. 

I was by my lonesome, lost in thought as I pondered on whether or not I should help them -- seeing as they had _no idea_ what they were walking into. I moved the rolly chair out from the table and was spinning around on it, my Omega talking to me mentally in support of helping them. **_If they really are out mates,_ ** she was reasoning, **_then we need to protect them._ ** I nodded to myself, agreeing with that. _But if they aren’t?_ She heard my stray thought and replied, **_then maybe we can gain their trust and leave when they least expect it._ ** I paused in my spinning, thoughtfully pondering it. _Huh. That could work, but it would be obvious._ I commenced my spinning, arguing with my Omega for another few moments until I heard my name.

“Do you think Circe knows who these numbers correlate to?” Dr. Banner quietly asked Barnes. The latter man shrugged and glanced at the twins. They shared their unsure look, each glancing back at me with curious yet worried eyes. Vision, however, didn’t share their quietness.

“Miss Circe,” Vision began, walking across the room and towards me, catching everyone’s attention, “we require your knowledge.” I paused in my spinning and raised an eyebrow, looking up at the slightly-spinning Vision. “These experiment numbers are unfamiliar to us. Do you know who they were assigned to?” I eyed Vision thoughtfully. 

“I do.” The twins and Banner looked surprised, but Barnes nodded as if a suspicion he held was confirmed. Vision was silent, waiting for me to say more, but I copied his actions and remained silent. The other Avengers began to get twitchy, waiting for me to say something. 

“Well?” Romanoff asked, annoyed. “Who are they?” I looked over the group with raised eyebrows, over-doing my confused look. 

“ _Oh_ ,” I put a hand over my heart, a condescending smile on my face, “you want my help. That’s cute.” I dropped the smile and rolled my eyes, spinning around in the chair again. “You know, I had the _weirdest_ dream the other day! I flew to China, saved the Avengers, brought them _back_ to America, and then two weeks later, the thanks I got was being _kidnapped_ by the same people I _saved_ !” I stopped my spinning, opening my arms to motion around the room. “It _must_ have been a dream. Why else would they have the _audacity_ to ask for my help? They didn’t even _thank_ me for saving them! How ungrateful can humans be?” 

Romanoff was rubbing her forehead, glaring at me with annoyance. Thor, Barton, Wilson, Peter, and the twins carried guilty expressions, and though Loki’s face had a small smirk, his eyes held his own guilty conscience. Barnes and Stark had raised eyebrows and stone expressions as they eyed me with wariness. Rogers and Dr. Banner avoided my eyes, crossing their arms to comfort themselves. Fury was the only one sighed loudly, running a hand over his face like Romanoff. 

“Fine. What will it take for you to take on this mission?” Fury asked, sounding haggard and looking as old as he probably was. The Avengers glanced over at Fury with surprised eyes, controlling their expressions as they looked between the two of us. I ran my tongue over my teeth inside of my mouth, thinking about a price that would make me happy. 

“Nothing.” Fury raised his eyebrow, the others processing my word. I shrugged. “Nothing you have will make me take on a mission from you _ever_ again. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me -- all that morality bullshit.” Rogers gave a sigh of his own.

“Circe,” he began, conveying his desperateness through his expression and voice, “anything you have that could help us stop HYDRA would be very much appreciated.” I ignored him, looking at my nails. He took in a deep breath. “Thank you for saving us.” I looked over at him, giving him my signature, sickly sweet smile and placing a hand over my heart.

“You’re _welcome_ , Captain. Good to see one of you has _manners_.” He nodded, clenching his jaw as his eyes raked me up and down. I ignored it -- not wanting to think too much about his actions -- and ran my eyes over the other members of the team, each of them shifting nervously under my dagger-like stare (though Romanoff and Loki met it head-on). “I have decided on a price-,” a few stepped forward, surprised, “-for my help on this mission, I want all of the ones I saved to thank me. Preferably, ‘thank you, Circe, for saving our dumbasses from the Playboy Bunny Chinese Mafia.’” Romanoff looked like she was going to bang her head into the wall, Barton, Wilson and Rhodes alongside her. A few others, however, took it in stride.

“Thank you, Lady Circe, for saving our dumbasses from the…,” Thor began, trailing off as he remembered the wording, “the Playboy Bunny Chinese Mafia.” I nodded and looked over at the others, raising an eyebrow. Almost everyone, especially Stark, looked annoyed at having to say it. I motioned over to Thor.

“I was joking about the Playboy part, but he said it, so now the rest of you have to, as well. If there is anything I am, it is _fair_.” Thor looked at his brother, motioning his head to me. 

“Thank you, Lady Circe,” Loki began, glaring at his brother with annoyed eyes and gritting his teeth, “for saving our... _dumbasses_...from the Playboy Bunny Chinese Mafia.” Stark snorted the loudest with laughter as a few others chuckled, but one look from Loki silenced them. The twins and Vision were next, along with the birdmen and Rhodes. Dr. Banner was rubbing his eyes under his glasses, but said it nonetheless when he noticed I was looking at him.

“Thanks for saving us,” Romanoff growled out, eyes gold and daring me to say anything about it. I rolled my eyes and looked at the last two: Stark and Barnes. Stark huffed and thanked me in quick words that almost jumbled together in his hurry to get it over with, and Barnes simply said, _“thank you”_ and left it at that. A genuine smile appeared on my face, amused at their discomfort. Unfortunately, the Alpha males and Dr. Banner grew a dazed look, eyes staring intently at my face as I smiled at the group. Romanoff was annoyed, elbowing Rogers and Barnes in the side to bring them out of their daze. 

“You’re welcome.” I stood up, snapping the others out of their daze as they waited for me to do something. “You see? That wasn’t so hard!” I walked briskly towards the twins, Dr. Banner, and Barnes -- due to them standing in front of the hologram. The three males seemed to deflate when I walked past them, ignoring their straightening postures as I focused on the list of experiments. “FRIDAY, separate and display them for me, please.” 

“She-,” Stark began but stopped when FRIDAY copied the sequenced numbers and spread them out. I ignored his shocked “ _traitor_ ,” and began moving the numbers around.

“FRIDAY, call Cerberus.” 

_“Already on it, Circe.”_ The speakers were ringing as Stark sputtered to the ones closest to him about FRIDAY betraying him. I rolled my eyes, ignoring him. 

_“Miss Circe,”_ Cerberus began, _“your call is earlier than normal. Are you ready to expose the Avengers as kidnappers to the media, yet?”_ His tone was innocent and child-like, though I could hear the underlying malice. I raised my finger to the ceiling.

“I like the way you think, Cerberus, but not yet.” Cerberus hummed in response, sounding putout. I chuckled. “I’m going to read off numbers of HYDRA experiments. I need everything we have on them sent to FRIDAY.” 

_“Of course, Miss Circe. Does this have anything to do with the kidnapping threats HYDRA has issued on the Governor of California during his trip to Los Angeles?”_ He was silent. _“Which I know_ **_nothing_ ** _about?”_ I laughed, about to respond when Barton interrupted. 

“This is a high-profiled case!” Barton exclaimed, surprised. “How does your AI know about it?” I turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, though I noticed the others looked equally confused and suspicious. 

“Don’t know, don’t care.” I turned back to the numbers, starting with the Winter Soldiers. “Experiment WS4890; Experiment WS2456; Experiment WS9076...,” I continued rattling off the numbers, pictures of each W.S. popping up under their numbers. Barnes and the twins were muttering back and forth, the other members moving forward to look at the pictures. I moved onto the other experiments listed. “Experiment T49AG2; Experiment H89GY2; Experiment D57JU4; Experiment G23OP8…,” I rattled off the last six numbers, pictures popping up in all but two, notes popping on theirs instead. “Awesome. Thanks, bud.”

 _“Of course, Miss Circe. Though, I must insist on ruining the Avengers and-,”_ FRIDAY hung up on him, and I snorted out an unladylike laugh. 

_“Apologies, Circe.”_

“Uh-huh. Right.” Stark was watching me curiously as the others focused more on the individual holograms of information they were looking at. I sighed, crossing my arms and turning to the group, leaning against the wall as they looked over the information. 

“I know them,” Barnes began, motioning to the profiles of the other W.S.s while looking at Rogers and Fury. “They are part of the Winter Soldier Program.” The two men nodded, furrowed eyebrows high on their faces as they looked through the computer files. “But I thought we had all of the others killed off? Since they chose to become the Winter Soldiers?” They looked troubled and began talking about it as Rhodes grabbed my attention. 

“How do you have all of this?” Rhodes asked me. He was beside me, looking through a file on one of the experimental animals -- a larger than average bear with steel claws and teeth. I shrugged, knowing his eyes were assessing my every movement. 

“I’m a pretty great hacker, Rhodes.” I pointed to the file. “Experiment G23OP8, or Fluffy as I like to call him, was made a few months before I was put into the Winter Soldier program.” That caught everyone’s attention, other than Fury’s and Peter’s as they already knew. I ignored their wide-eyed looks, keeping my eyes on the surprised Rhodes. “He’s vicious as _fuck_. Fast, too. They took him in as a cub and experimented on him, outfitting him with steel claws and teeth. Out of the twenty Grizzly Bear Cubs they snatched up, only he survived.” Rhodes became confused, eyebrows furrowing.

“But aren’t Grizzly Bears extinct?” I looked pointedly at the file.

“Why do you think they’re extinct?” He looked horrified for a moment, looking back at the file. “They tried to fix the population for a hot second, got him a female bear to mate with.” I grimaced. “He liked eating her more than mating.” Stark almost smiled before he turned green -- most likely thinking of something dirty before it clicked -- as the others looked disgusted. 

I moved myself away from the wall and waved my hand. The holograms went back onto the wall, the W.S.s on top and the experiments on the bottom. The others realized what my movements meant and moved to stand around the room. 

“The top ones are, obviously, the Winter Soldiers. HYDRA had three main benefactors -- the politicians, the Chinese, and the Ordinolla Cartel. They created over three hundred Winter Soldiers, but they did not turn out as successful as they had hoped.” All of their eyes were on me, Barnes looking confused as to why he didn’t know this. “The top ten Soldiers went to the politicians, including Barnes. The Chinese got the ones that had to be in groups to make an impact, and the Ordinolla Cartel got the rest -- over a hundred or so. Obviously, they sold most of them to the highest bidder, most of them returning to HYDRA. _These_ ones were the weakest out of all of the batches.” A few of them seemed to deflate with relief at them being the weakest. “These _ones_ , however, are the problem.” I brought eight of the experiments forward, Fluffy included. “I call this one Bob, he’s a modified Venus Fly Trap (modified meaning he likes humans). These are the twins, Penny and Lenny; stray dogs that were trained to kill on order. Wicked fast, mean bite, 10/10 would _not_ recommend petting. This one is Fluffy, obviously. This one is Michael, biological name and all.” I pointed to a human one. “He’s schizophrenic, that’s why they snatched him. It was rather mild at the time, and he was on his meds. After they gave him powers, it made his schizophrenia worse. He can cast illusions, but they won’t last long if you get him riled up. Just say things to piss him off, and you’re good. He’s very unstable.

“This one is Amy. She joined willingly, and fucked her way into the Power Sector.” A blonde haired, blue eyed girl appeared with bright red lipstick and overly placed-on makeup. “Sucks for her. She controls _dust_. Not soil, or Earth like in Avatar.” I chuckled, remembering when I teased her about her powers. “One time, I was fucking with her about her dust powers and got her on dusting duty, she was so pissed. And-,” I caught the unamused face of Fury and pouted, “-moving on, this one is Blobby. He was created in a lab. He’s just a blob; get stuck, he’ll suck you in and suffocate you. This is his best friend, Jerry, he’s a shapeshifter. The biggest animal I have seen him turn into is a Siberian Tiger. He’s rather tiny compared to the other shapeshifters HYDRA created.” 

“Other shapeshifters?” Wanda asked, confused. 

“There are more?” Pietro finished in typical twin fashion. I glanced at Fury, his face betraying nothing. Turning to the twins, I shrugged.

“A few. Last I heard, one of them died. Hit by a car, ironically.” I moved them back and brought forward the last three. “I don’t know who these two are. They were made after I was long gone. All I have are notes on them from the hacking I _allegedly_ did.”

“And the last?” Stark asked when I became silent.

“The last one-,” the picture blew up, a familiar face only to me staring back, “-is Kaos.”

Three hours later, when the plan was set in stone, the team was gearing up to leave. Of course, I tried to escape when everyone’s attention was focused on putting the finishing touches of the plan. I made it to the elevator, the doors closing, when a palm came between them. I huffed out a _“damn,”_ and watched as the doors reopened, an amused Stark standing there. I huffed again when I saw a significant amount of Avengers behind him. 

“Going somewhere, Circe?” Stark asked nonchalantly as he stepped into the elevator, the other seven Avengers stepping in behind him -- Rogers, Barnes, Peter, Dr. Banner, Romanoff, Barton, and Wilson. 

“Yes, away from testosterone, specifically,” I replied just as nonchalantly, giving them a condescending smile. Romanoff just gave me a smug smile, and I looked up at the ceiling, ready for Zeus to smite me. Stark pressed a button and the elevator slowly began descending.

There was a tense silence in the elevator, the others glancing at each other as I stared at the glowing yelling button. Rogers and Romanoff were sharing looks with Stark, talking without speaking. I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the elevator wall, crossing my arms. Finally, the elevator doors opened and Rogers began to step out. Barnes grabbed my bicep and pulled me along behind him, rather gently as if he thought he could break my arm if he was not careful. _Don’t know why_ , I thought with a huff, _considering my arm would just heal. Quite anticlimactic._ I huffed outwardly at his hold but allowed it, following after the two Super Soldiers to a door.

“Plan is for stealth, so get ready. We leave in twenty,” Barnes muttered, opening the door. Glancing into the room, I recognized the broken furniture. I stepped in and grabbed the door handle, beginning to close it when Rogers raised a hand, stepping forward.

“We will come and get you, Circe. We will take a detour through the armory and get you suitable weapons,” he said calmly, giving me a sheepish smile. I raised an eyebrow, eyeing the two nervous men, but said nothing and slammed the door in their faces.

“ _Men_ ,” I grumbled. My Omega huffed in response, agreeing with me.

My closet did not hold any battle-worthy clothing, and I was hesitant on revealing my magic due to them _potentially_ not knowing about it. Sighing, I decided on the black skinny jeans, a Black Sabbath T-Shirt, and a black zip-up hoodie. I huffed, rolling my eyes as I eyed myself in the mirror. _This will not help me in any battle, but I can’t die, so whatever._ There was a sharp knock on my door and I took in a deep breath, walking to it. Both men stood outside it, Barnes with his hair pulled back and Rogers with his shield, dressed in their stealthiest suits. Obviously, they were equipped for battle. _And looked hot as fuck_. Rogers cocked an eyebrow, looking me up and down with slight worry as Barnes scowled at my attire. I rolled my eyes and strode past them, towards the elevator. I could hear their footsteps following me.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” Rogers asked. Barnes punched him in the arm, making Rogers grunt in pain as I pressed the button to the elevator. “Sorry. That came out...rude.” I hummed in response, walking into the elevator with the two men behind me. Rogers pressed the button to the sixtieth floor and the doors closed. Barnes turned to look at me, assessing my tennis shoes with a look of distaste. “What I meant was-,” Barnes cut him off.

“You’re not properly dressed for battle,” Barnes stated, meeting my eyes with disapproval. An incredulous feeling began building in me as I looked at their upset expressions. “It will provide you with no safety at all, and you cannot hide a weapon under your jacket without the agents noticing.” I laughed, looking up at the ceiling as my anger began to permeate the air, surprising them.

“What I wear is none of your concern,” I snarled back, my eyes flashing white. “And for your information, I don’t have any _battle ready_ clothes waiting around like you do. I have clothes like that at my home, but I’m not there, now am I?” Rogers flinched back at my words, the guilty look reappearing on his face. Barnes looked like a kicked puppy, a dawning realization in his eyes. I clenched my jaw and breathed in deeply, calming myself without the usage of an Alpha scent. “Don’t forget that I am _not_ an Avenger. I don’t answer to either of you.” The elevator doors opened and I brushed past them into the hallway. 

“Circe,” Rogers called out, sounding apologetic. “We didn’t mean to be rude.” Rogers and Barnes reached me, standing on either side of me as I continued down the hallway. “We didn’t think about it that way.” I stood in front of the door to the armory, Rogers pressing in the passcode to open the door. I rolled my eyes and walked in when it was open, looking around at the weapons laid out around the room. 

Romanoff and Barton were in there, talking about weird taser-like things in her hands. Stark was talking to Thor and Loki on the other side of the room, holding out knives and scythes for Loki to look through. I had a feeling they were all waiting for the three of us to show up, as their eyes immediately went to me when we walked in. A frown tugged at my lips as my eyes ran over the amount of tiny, useless guns littered around the walls. _Those aren’t going to do anything to the experiments_ , I thought idly, walking slowly around the room to look at the other weapons -- tasers, pepper spray/tear gas, tiny bombs, bow and arrows, shields, and knives. _How mundane._

“See something you like?” Stark asked, sounding smug. 

“No.” It fell out of my lips automatically, a displeased frown on my face. Barton and Thor laughed loudly, a sort of startled laugh that became real as it prolonged. I turned around to look at an offended Stark. Romanoff was rolling her eyes, but the others had small smirks of amusement. “Got anything else, Stark?” He gave a jerky nod and pressed a button on the table. The wall of mediocre guns rolled up like a garage door and other weapons were behind it.

“Got hammers, scythes, machine guns, grenade launchers,” Stark listed, eyeing me as I looked around the wall. There were a few hammers and such, along with much stronger guns. My eyes ran over the wall, assessing the strength of each option and whether they would beat the experiments. None of them passed. I sighed, ready to just grab a knife and magic it after we were separated, when I saw a table in the corner with a “Scrap Metal” sign underneath it. I walked over to it, my eyes drawn to a familiar weapon I hadn’t seen in years. “Uh, that’s scrap metal, Circe. Nothing cool is over there-,” he was cut off by Romanoff hitting him in the stomach with her elbow. He wheezed out an, “ _ow_ ,” but remained silent. 

“I haven’t seen _this_ in years,” I said, my lips twitching into a wide grin as I wrapped my hand around the small black weight at the bottom of the chain. The black chain reached up to a black-handled, vibranium scythe the length and width of my forearm. “Where did you find it?”

“Uh,” Stark sounded unsure, “an old HYDRA base, I think? Thought it was cool enough to reuse, but never got around to it. Had to clean all of the rust and dried blood off of it, though. Fucking gross.” I chuckled, moving the handle of it in my right hand. 

“Good thing you didn’t throw it away.” I blinked out of my daze and looked around the scrap metal table. “Everything else is shit, so I’ll just take this.” All of their scrutinizing eyes rested on me, but I ignored them, walking back to the elevator. I was almost out of the room when a small but calloused hand wrapped around my wrist. I stopped and tilted my head to show that I was paying attention to the person behind me.

“I’m curious,” Romanoff began, staring me down with an impassive expression but dark eyes. “How did you know those experiment numbers?” I turned to look at her, noticing everyone else was paying just as much attention on me as she was. “Barnes didn’t know any of their numbers. What makes you so different?” I eyed her with the same look she gave me when we met: dark, assessing, and assassin-like. Finally, I shrugged and twisted my wrist out of her hand.

“I just do.” Her face twitched in annoyance and I chuckled darkly with bitter amusement, shaking my head. “I know their numbers-,” she stood up straighter, the others stepping forward in anticipation, “-because I was the one who was assigned to kill them should they try to defect.” Romanoff’s eyebrow twitched up in surprise, and the others shared her surprise. Loki had a dark twitching grin on his lips, a sense of sick pride in his eyes that made my stomach twist. Rogers and Barnes looked surprised, yet curious. But Stark was the only one who voiced his confusion.

“But Barnes was their top assassin, wasn’t he?” Stark asked, leaning against a table to my left. Rogers shot the man a glare, but Stark didn’t notice, keeping his eyes on me with thoughts racing around his head. “ _He_ didn’t know the numbers.” I shrugged. I didn’t care much for what happened to HYDRA after I left. But for all intents and purposes, I was their top In-House Punisher. Barnes most likely became that after I left. _Poor guy._ Rogers stepped forward.

“After you left, did they send him to kill you?” Rogers asked, a curious yet dark look on his face. Barnes clenched his jaw, a self-loathing look appearing in his eyes. I didn’t pay much attention to it, however, as Rogers’ question made a bubble of hysterical laughter escape me.

“No,” I said when I finished, a tear falling out of my eye in amusement. I wiped it away and took in a deep breath, the group slightly reeling with confusion due to my laughter. Barnes had a slightly offended but relieved look. “If they sent him after me, they would have received Barnes in pieces through the postal service -- metal arm first, of course.” A nauseous hue of green appeared on Rogers’ and Barton’s face, Loki carrying a wide grin with glinting eyes. The remaining four Avengers didn’t believe my words, giving me condescending looks -- though only Romanoff _meant_ to give it to me. “Anyways, you guys are boring me. Goodbye.”

I walked out of the room, the doors closed behind me as I heard them say my name. The ding of the elevator was heard and I looked up, seeing Peter by himself in the elevator, his suit on without his mask. He blinked at me with wide eyes and put a hand in between the doors so they wouldn’t close. I grinned and waved my hand. The doors to the armory remained closed with my magic, pounding sounding behind me as I rushed towards the elevator. When I made it to the elevator, I removed my magic and I could hear the door opening.

“What the fuck was that?” Barton asked, annoyed. 

“FRIDAY must have lost control over the doors,” Stark said, sounding distracted. I stepped into the elevator and turned around, a smirk on my face. The Avengers were walking down the hallway, and I chuckled when I heard Stark call out Peter’s name. “Peter! Hold the elevator!” They began moving forward, but the doors closed and we began rising to the last floor connected to stairs to the roof. 

It was silent in the elevator, my hands linked in front of me.

“I always knew you’d be a great actor,” I said idly, a small smirk appearing on my face as Peter snorted.

“I didn’t realize how easy it was to trick four master _spies_.” Peter handed me a small black bag that carried an O.P.-issued cell phone, one of my comms, my scent blocking gel, and a new nose purifier. I quickly pocketed it in the bra I was wearing, the elevator doors opening. “FRIDAY told me there was no one on the flight deck, so we’re good.” I nodded and we stepped out. We made it up the few steps of stairs and onto the flight deck. 

The quinjet was there, but it wasn’t ready to fly -- the pilots were still waiting for the singular elevator that went to the roof. Peter and I stood there, waiting for the pilots to open the jet. In the meantime, I wrapped my arms around Peter’s waist, pulling him into me to hug him properly. Resting his head on my shoulder, he breathed in my scent, immediately calming his slightly tense body. I rubbed his back, gently resting my chin on his own shoulder.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the plan,” I murmured into his shoulder. “I didn’t want to hurt you like that.” He shook his head slowly, rubbing his cheek against my shoulder.

“It’s okay, Circe,” he whispered, voice cracking. “I’m sorry I didn’t help you break out sooner. I’m just glad you told me the next day through Cerberus.” I smirked, remembering it.

“Yes, that was a pretty smart move.” He chuckled into my shoulder.

After the first night, the Avengers thought I was only calling Cerberus for work reasons. They were right, of course, but the next day, I had him contact Peter under a different name -- one used only for stealth missions ( _Ben_ ). I used code words to convey my apologies -- _“sorry for missing the meeting”_ and _“but the project I was planning is still commencing”_ \-- and he conveyed his own through Cerberus. On the third day of my capture, after Peter overheard that a mission was coming up, we created the plan: he would beg for me to be included, I would prove useful, he would sneak me the small bag with a cellphone and mission items, I would trick the Avengers through helping them (maybe save a few of their lives, again), and then bounce when their backs were turned. 

But we both knew the Avengers would try to get me back to help them. So, we were waiting it out to see what would happen. Maybe I would... _want_ ( _gag_ ) to stay and help them out.

Peter and I pulled away from each other when I heard the elevator ding. I rushed forward, standing near the railing to overlook the city as Peter stood near the jet, his mask over his face. He was already scenting as a sad Omega, but it wasn’t overpowering like the first day of my kidnapping. I heard feet rush up the steps.

“Peter,” Rogers began, “are you alright? Did she hurt you?” I snorted.

“Like you did in your little _Civil War_ , Rogers?” I called back, watching Stark begin his flight to the roof, his suit glinting red and gold in the sunlight. I was promptly ignored, Stark soaring over me and landing next to the group, stepping out of his suit to check Peter over.

“I’m _fine_ , Mr. Stark,” Peter insisted, sounding slightly exasperated. “She just ignored me in the elevator. Nothing else happened.” Stark huffed out a growl and I turned around, noticing the Betas glaring at me (except Vision and Wanda, of course), the two Gammas (Rhodes and Dr. Banner) giving me disappointed looks, and Romanoff glaring at me with gold eyes and a snarl.

 **“Don’t go near him, again,”** Romanoff snarled, her Alpha completely taking over. Rogers sighed and put a hand on her shoulder, Barton following his lead. She clenched her jaw and stepped down, turning back to Peter and checking him over herself. Stark and Rogers both gave me angry, disapproving looks. I rolled my eyes, bored out of my mind. Pietro and Loki were officially my favorites, considering they were bored about this whole ordeal, as well. 

Thor was the only one, however, who was voicing his thoughts about how I did not hurt Peter, and would never harm a child due to the Omega instincts I had already shown to have. Barnes and my two new favorites had seemed to think it over, an agreeing look in their eyes though they remained silent. The other Alphas and Betas would not hear of it, though, and ignored his words. Only Rhodes and Dr. Banner looked embarrassed, agreeing that I had shown Omega qualities. Finally, Vision voiced that we should be leaving to make it in time for the mission to start. Barton and Romanoff huffed, but started the quinjet up. 

“Come, Lady Circe,” Thor said calmly, holding his arm out. I wrapped my arm around his, walking with him towards the jet. Pietro was with his sister, and Loki sat next to Dr. Banner, his other side open for Thor.

Obviously, I was ostracized, sitting in the back where the “only” chair left was. The others had passively aggressively filled the seats with their items instead of the storage area above the seats. I told myself I didn’t care and sat down in the seat that didn’t have proper buckles. I glanced around the room every so often, noticing they didn’t look at me, much -- only Pietro, Barnes, Loki, Thor, and Dr. Banner taking the time to walk over and talk to me for a few moments. Pietro had to come over with Loki, hiding behind the taller demi-god with a nervous expression. He only greeted me and shook my hand, the tingles and butterflies filling me once again. But before we could have a proper conversation, Rogers was calling for a meeting -- and obviously, I was not invited. I took that moment to take out my scent blocker, rubbing copious amounts of it over each scent spot before sneaking it back in my bag. 

I pulled out my hook and chain weapon, running my fingers over the width of the blade. I took the handle at the bottom and ran my eyes over the craftsmanship. I became lost in my memories over the scythe-like weapon, twisting the bottom so that the handle became a sharpener. Mindlessly, I ran the blade against the sharpener, the sound piercing the air. 

“You seem fond of that,” Dr. Banner noted, making me blink and look up at him. The other Avengers were roaming around the area, Romanoff and Barton still in the cockpit. A few eyes were on me, but they did not stay long. Dr. Banner sighed as he sat down in front of me, an impassively neutral look on his face. “Do you mind if I ask where you got it?” 

I remained silent, trying to determine the consequences of replying with the truth. He remained silent, waiting for me to say something. I licked my lips and looked down at my weapon, beginning to sharpen it again. I thought he would leave, but he didn’t -- just sat there quietly. I took a deep breath. “My... _father_ gave it to me.” He raised an eyebrow, an interested look on his face. “Built with vibranium, so it’s pretty expensive. He told me not to lose it.” I scoffed, clenching my jaw at the glittering blade. Dr. Banner remained silent until he could not stifle his curiosity anymore. 

“Tony said he found it in a HYDRA base,” he said softly, putting a finger on the top of the blade, pushing hard enough for a nick to appear on his finger. He didn’t seem to care. “You didn’t lose it, did you? You knew right where it was the entire time.” I chuckled at his words.

I looked into his brown eyes, a sudden urge to kiss him rearing suddenly from my Omega. The butterflies were swarming, and my stomach was clenching. While his eyes drifted down to my mouth, mine stayed on his own, a wicked smile curling onto my lips. He blinked, moving his eyes back up to my own with curiosity. I leaned forward, closer to his ear as he held his breath, waiting for something to happen. I kept my eyes on the ground as I remembered the last fight I had with this blade.

“You’re right,” I whispered to him, catching sight of Barnes turning to look at me. I looked up at him, a dark and maniacal grin on my face as he raised an eyebrow. “I knew exactly where my weapon was: deep in my father’s skull.” 

[Weapon:](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-alHrmk2pcvM/WHnipcvfIyI/AAAAAAAAD48/m5lkYV9laoQfuxpnOsvCCrAYiBv_IicFwCLcB/s1600/fma.png)


	7. “So. You’re my elusive soulmate.”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “To think you could have already been mated to me if you just said something. Think of all the awesome sex we could have had. Too bad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you tired of me, yet?  
> I'm a little sick right now,  
> But I swear,  
> When I'm ready,  
> I will fly us out of here.
> 
> \-- This is Home, Cavetown

Hey, everyone! I have a new story on my Works page! Check it out!

[**Lady Lorelei** by AsMuchAsIWish](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25275619)

I leaned back, laughing at the memory of my father’s terrified face. Dr. Banner looked nauseous, but his eyes were glowing a strong gold with green spots. It was quite beautiful and made the laughter pause in my throat, my interest piquing as he analyzed me. He opened his mouth to say something when Rogers and Barnes were next to us, Rogers staring down at me with scrutinizing eyes. I raised an eyebrow, turning to Barnes.

“Problem, gentlemen?” 

“You killed your own father?” Rogers asked, though his voice was free of disgust and anything condescending. He merely sounded curious, a worried tinge in his eyes. The others were now watching, but he was talking low enough for them to not hear -- except maybe Thor and Loki. I opened my mouth to reply when Romanoff called to the back.

“Landing in thirty seconds!” 

I’ll give the soldiers credit, they didn’t stumble like newbies when we began to descend. Dr. Banner’s hand rushed to stabilize himself by gripping my seat, his warm hand slightly under my thigh. His face was red, but I didn’t pay attention to it, choosing to stand up regally instead.

“I did.” The jet touched down, the group beginning to move around. I looked between the two curious-eyed, impassive-faced soldiers, keeping the grin on my face. “In some countries, they torture pedophiles and rapists for days before they are, eventually, killed. He should have been thankful.” I cocked my head. “I only cut off his dick before I embedded my blade in his skull.” The doors to the outside descended, the Avengers slowly moving down the ramp. Romanoff and Stark had stern eyes on the four of us, looking between my grinning face and an almost-Hulking-out Dr. Banner. I leaned forward, whispering to the two soldiers that were stiffening up and holding their breath, just like Dr. Banner did. “Better hurry, Captain; Sergeant. Everyone’s waiting.” They let out low growls and I walked between them, towards the door.

“What was that about?” Rhodes asked calmly and curiously. When I walked past him, he fell into step beside me, Stark gaping and sputtering out protests. I ignored Stark, eyeing the tiny grey building in the distance as we stood outside of the jet, waiting for everyone to grab their weapons of choice. The sun was close to setting, and the plan began at nightfall.

“I don’t know. Alphas are fucking  _ weird _ .” Rhodes snorted in amusement, and I grinned. “How’s the face?” He looked at me, confused. “From the Chinese.” He ‘ahh’ed and nodded. “I remember you took a pretty bad beating. Could barely see out of your left eye.” He laughed.

“Yeah, but a bloody nose beats my legs.” I raised an eyebrow and looked down, seeing his legs were braces. 

“Huh. I didn’t even notice.” I looked back up at him, his eyes holding a deep pain and face bitter acceptance. “You carry yourself well. I wouldn’t have thought you had braces until you told me.” He gave me a bitter grin, snorting.

“ _ Thanks _ .” 

“How did it happen, if you don’t mind me asking?” He took in a deep breath, his eyes growing a distant look.

“During the Civil War, we fought at an airport. Vision was shooting and accidentally hit me, I lost control of the War Machine suit, and no one could catch me in time.” He sighed, looking down at the metal leg braces with a forlorn look. “Tony made these for me. Better than what’s on the market.” I hummed. He didn’t look happy and it irked me. We were both looking at the grey building in the distance, conversation happening only behind us as we stood watch. I leaned to the right, hitting his shoulder teasingly and bringing him out of his bitter daze.

“You want me to cut off his legs?” He turned to me with wide eyes, confused. I raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to avenge your legs? I’m quite adept at dismembering.” He let out a full-belly laugh that filled the area, a grin twitching onto my lips. 

“Tony told me about that.” He wiped a tear of laughter away from his face, an easy-going smile appearing on his face. “Sad to say we both doubt that you could dismember the former Winter Soldier, himself.” I tsked, shaking my head thoughtfully. 

“Do I need to actually dismember him for you people to believe me?” He gave me an amused grin, and I raised my eyebrow. “Because I will. I doubt he will be a challenge, but I’ll fucking do it! Don’t test me, Rhodes, I am -- what the children of the world say -- a  _ badass _ .” Rhodes nodded, raising his hands in surrender.

“Yes, ma’am.” I gave him a mock-smug look, grinning at his chuckle. “But, no, I don’t need my legs avenged. Tony already asked.” I pouted, looking up at him through my eyelashes.

“Bummer,” I patted his shoulder, and leaned in slightly to whisper, “if you change your mind, call me. I’ll give you the poor-person deal like I did with Fury -- gift cards to coffee shops and mediocre restaurants.” He chuckled and nodded.

“Will do,” he whispered back, making me nod with a satisfied smile, leaning back. I turned around, looking at the conversing group that was slowly moving around to grab their weapons and setting up a boulder to lay their schematics down.

“Can we leave, now, or what?” I called out, catching their attention. “I’m bored, and you’re taking too long!” Rhodes stifled his laughter as I glared at the others, ready to move. Rogers and Barnes, though, were struggling with their Alphas, their eyes switching between the blues and golds. Stark narrowed his eyes at me.

“We need to go over the plan, again,” Stark reprimanded. I scowled, crossing my arms. “Do you know what your part is?” I dropped my arms and cocked my head, thinking about it. Stark snorted. “Don’t hurt yourself, Lady Winter Soldier.” I raised a finger, pointing at Stark.

“Fuck you, Stark! I know what I am supposed to be doing.” I sniffed haughtily, recrossing my arms. “I just thought it was stupid so I elected to forget it.” Four of them -- you can probably guess who -- looked annoyed, and rubbed their temples. Loki and Pietro snickered behind their team members’ backs, and Barnes held a small smirk. The others mostly rolled their eyes, Rhodes among them. “Ugh,  _ fine _ . Fuck, what was I supposed to do, again?” 

“Circe,” Rogers began, calm yet firm in his Captain Mode, “you are going to help Barton and Romanoff get us into the building through the windows on the fifth floor, East Side.” Romanoff and Barton looked at me expectantly, and I hummed in response. Stark had a smirk on his face as he stepped into his suit.

“Why did you think it was stupid?” Stark asked, his smirk growing into a shit-eating grin as Romanoff and Barton glared at me, daring me to say anything regarding them. 

“I remembered that one!” I grinned and pointed at him, which made him cock an eyebrow. “I thought it was stupid  _ because  _ we could knock  _ politely  _ and they’d let us in.” Barton and Stark both choked on their saliva with their laughter as the Captain and Romanoff huffed. Barnes carried his signature impassive ‘I-will-kill-you’ expression, and Wilson scowled with annoyance. Loki and Pietro, again, were the only ones smirking. Thor looked like he was questioning his life’s questions, and Peter was hiding his grin with his mask.

“Yeah, we’re  _ not  _ doing that,” Rhodes said, chuckling with amusement.

“Well, I gave it a shot.” I turned and began walking towards the building, grumbling inwardly at the stupidity of the plan. The top floors of every HYDRA building were filled with silent alarms and booby traps.  _ Should we go there first, we’ll be overrun and would have to jump out of the building.  _ I heard grumbling behind me and hustling footsteps. Romanoff and Barton appeared beside me, Romanoff standing between Barton and me with a cross expression. 

The sun was setting and darkness was beginning to cover the area as we walked. Barton and Romanoff were quiet, eyes firmly on the building as they looked for cameras and such from afar. When we were too close, they bent down a little to hide behind rocks and bushes until they were sure they were not going to be seen. Of course, I followed their lead under silent protest, but kept my eyes on the building as guards came out of the doors, standing guard in front of them. There were also watchtowers that had roaming spotlights, but they were not turned on, yet. When we were close enough, we hid behind the boulders and bushes for the moment it would be too dark to see us move in on the guards.

“Here.” Romanoff threw a comm at my shoulder. “Put it in.” I silently followed her command, putting it in my ear. I turned it on and immediately began hearing the others talking. Rogers was ordering everyone around, and Stark was making funny commentary. Looking at the building and the guards, I began analyzing their movements.  **“Don’t do anything** **_stupid_ ** **, Omega.”** The others quieted and I could feel her Alpha-Gold eyes narrowed on me. I kept my face neutral, eyes watching the guards in the tower laugh and move around the small area.  **“I will not have the time to save your dumbass should you get overrun with the Soldiers. If you** -,” the ones in the first tower sat down, my eyes moving to the second, **“-ruin this mission for us, your room will be downgraded to a cell and you’ll be forced out only to come to Team Meetings, Bonding, and Eating. Am I clear?”** The other guards in the watchtower sat down, the spotlights now turning on and remaining on one spot due to their operators not paying attention. The guards in front of the building began talking to each other, one pulling out his phone to play on.  **“Omega.** **_Am I clear_ ** **?”**

“Yeah, yeah, Romanoff, just shut up. I’m working.” I slowly moved out from behind the bush and towards the closest bush. 

_ “Circe, where are you going?” _ Barton whispered harshly into the comm as I moved closer to the guards.  _ “Get  _ **_back_ ** _ here!” _ While the first guard had his phone out, the second guard was leaning his head back against the wall with his eyes closed. 

_ “What are you doing, Circe?” _ Rogers growled, beginning to sound agitated.  _ “Stick with the plan.” _ I slowly moved out from behind my boulder and bush.

_ “She’s moving,” _ Stark said warningly. Romanoff and Barton growled and grumbled, slowly moving forward behind me. 

I grasped the handle of my vibranium scythe and threw it forward, slicing through the throat of the guard on his phone. There was a slight gurgle as his head fell onto his lap, decapitating cleanly from his body. The chains clanked lightly as the scythe came back to me, but I immediately threw it at the other guard before he could do anything. Lucky for us (and him), he was dead asleep when it happened. His head stayed on his body, head leaned back against the building. Romanoff and Barton were moving in front of me seconds later, grabbing the card keys the guards were carrying. 

“Front guards are down,” Romanoff reported, voice cold and analytical. I stayed rooted to my spot, keeping my eyes on the watchtowers. With my hearing, I could tell that two of them were asleep and the other two were watching television shows on their cell phones. “Circe deviated from the plan.” I snorted at the typical ‘mom-look-what-she-did’ attitude.

“I did my job while you were taking your sweet time, Romanoff.” Romanoff growled, snapping her head over to me with glowing gold eyes, but I ignored her. “We can go in if the rest of you are quiet.” I moved towards the doors Romanoff and Barton were standing in front of. 

“You are not going in,” Romanoff stated firmly, clenching her jaw as she stepped in front of me with clear eyes. 

_ “Romanoff,” _ Rogers and Stark growled out. She ignored them. 

“You were told not to deviate from the plan, and you did. You are going to compromise this mission, so you can stay out here.” The Alpha Males growled on the other line, beginning to protest her decision, but I blinked at her and shrugged. 

“Alright.” I walked over to the decapitated head and picked it up by the hair, setting it back on its twitching body. 

**_“Move out,”_** Rogers growled, annoyed. The phone that was in the dead man’s hands was dark, but when I pressed his thumb against the button, it opened to the game he was playing. 

“Ooh,  _ Doodle Jump. _ ” I sat down against the wall, next to his body, and played the game. 

“What the fuck?” Barton asked incredulously. “Is that  _ it _ ? No fighting, no dramatic form of protest?” I didn’t look at either of them as the others slowly came out of their hiding spots, Stark’s quiet repulsors landing in front of us. 

“Don’t need to.” I grinned at the game as the doodle drawing got higher than the guards’ previous score (he seemed to have just downloaded it). “I may have told you what I know, but I know for a  _ fact  _ that more than half of you are  _ overconfident  _ in your abilities to subdue them. Without me, you’re screwed.” I looked up at Romanoff and Barton, giving them my angelic grin. “Have  _ fun _ .” 

“We will,” Romanoff sneered, opening the doors and walking in. Barton sighed and followed after her. Rogers nodded at the others, so the other Betas, Rhodes, and Peter followed them in, their eyes assessing the atmosphere between the Alphas and myself. Stark huffed a sigh when they were gone.

“What the hell were you thinking, Circe?” Stark asked, sounding as if he held the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

“We had a plan set in place,” Rogers continued, disappointed eyes narrowed on me. “To make everything go smoothly, this plan needs everyone on board and doing their part.”

“Friend,” Thor began pleadingly, “Lady Circe followed the plan percicley in her own way, however different it was. She was meant to remove the guards, and she did.” Rogers and Stark glared at him, clenching their jaws with anger as Thor vouched for me. 

“That’s not the  _ point _ , Thor.” Rogers looked pointedly at me. “Circe went against orders when she promised to help us with this mission.” Loki stepped forward, catching their attention.

“If I may,” he began smoothly, ignoring the  _ “no, you may not” _ from Barton on the other line, “Lady Circe told all of us that she would not conform to your plans should she not view them as fool-proof when you asked her to be an Avenger.” It was silent on both of the lines, Stark and Rogers having stoic looks on their faces but emotions I didn’t bother to decipher in their eyes. 

“That is true,” Dr. Banner butted in meekly, glancing from me over to the two stubborn Alphas. “She also said that she would not fight with us considering we could not trust her, and vice versa.” Stark sighed audibly, along with a few others I could not pinpoint on the other line.

“Don’t waste your breath, gentlemen.” I exited out of the game, searching through the man’s phone for a new game --  _ ooh, Best Fiends! _ “You’re right, for once -- didn’t like your plan and can’t trust kidnappers. But you have made your decision and,  _ shocker _ , I don’t care.” I nodded towards the doorway. “Better hurry up. They’re going to start without you.” 

“We don’t have anyone to watch you,” Stark stated, crossing his arms over his chest. “We cannot trust that you will not run away while we are fighting.” 

“Steve and I will take her,” Barnes stated firmly, stepping forward. Stark and Rogers both shook their heads, stopping him in his tracks.

“You and I will both be busy taking out the heavy hitters, Buck.” Rogers ran his eyes over the others, a battle going through his eyes. “Stark will watch her.” 

“Fine by me.” Stark walked towards me, putting out his armored gauntlet as Thor and Pietro began protesting to Rogers with Romanoff, Barton, and Wilson on the other line (though each group was for completely different reasons). “Up and at em, sunshine.” I huffed a sigh and stood up without his help, my hand still holding the phone. “Bup-bup!” I cocked an eyebrow and looked down at his grabby-motioning hand. “The phone. Give it.” I scowled and huffed, handing it over. He sent a surge of power through it and burnt the battery, the screen black and blank. 

“ **Enough** ,” Rogers growled, sending a shiver of arousal down my spine as the Betas and three Alphas quieted. “Focus on the  _ mission _ .” He brushed past Stark and I, the others following behind them so Stark and I brought up the rear. 

The group moved silently, splitting up into groups of two and heading off into different directions. Stark and I walked down an empty hallway, his footsteps loud and obvious while mine were silent and calculated. The others were whispering on the line, Wanda and Vision disposing of a Winter Soldier with two regular agents that were in the security room. We didn’t trip any silent alarms, thankfully, but then Romanoff, Barton, and Rhodes were ambushed by three Winter Soldiers and five agents, the alarm finally blaring loudly over the intercoms. Almost immediately, each group was overrun with agents, Soldiers, and experiments -- Wanda and Vision getting stuck with Michael (or Mikey, as I called him), Peter and Falcon were stuck with Penny and Lenny, and I am pretty sure Fluffy found the two demigods if their raucous laughter was anything to go by. Pietro and Dr. Banner -- who was now the Hulk -- were fighting Blobby and Jerry, and the two 1940s Super Soldiers were fighting the bulk of the Winter Soldiers and HYDRA agents while making their way to the overrun trio. 

Stark and I, however, were faced with two teenagers and ten agents guarding them. These were the two I didn’t know, ones that were made after I left. The boys were obviously twins and looked to be closer to eighteen. They smelled like annoying Betas, though the first one smelt like fires started by electric wires and the second smelt like the ocean. They wore black tactical gear similar to what Amy, Mikey, and I used to wear when we went on missions. Speaking of Amy, they kind of looked like her.

“We have eyes on Iron Man,” the twin on the left spoke, his voice deep and eyes a glaring black. “Permission to kill?” His brother laid a hand on his arm, eyes falling onto me. 

_ “Stark, Circe, who is that?” _ Rogers barked, grunting as he hit someone on the other line. Stark and I were quiet, a tension growing between the two of us as we thought of what to do.

“Who are you?” The second brother asked, the agents looking between the four of us. His eyes were a few shades lighter than the first brother’s, and I could tell they were very different even though they looked the same. I stepped forward, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Stark.

“None of your business, kid.” Their eyes narrowed, and the intercom beeped overhead.

_ “Permission granted.”  _

I immediately ducked behind Stark’s suit as the guards opened fire. The machine gun bullets (mostly) bounced off his suit while he raised his hands, firing the repulsors. I heard distinct shouts of pain as some machine guns stopped firing, but Stark was hit with something wet that would have sent him stumbling back had I not been there. I huffed and looked around him to see balls of water sitting in the second boy’s hand, and blue electricity flowing through the first one’s fingers. The HYDRA agents were mostly taken out, a few of them still holding their machine guns upright as they took shelter behind the twin boys.

“ _ Fuck _ ,” Stark swore, a scowl in his voice. There was yelling on the other line, though Romanoff and Barton were refusing to ask for help (of course, Rogers and Barnes had finally made it to them, so they didn’t really need to). 

I huffed a sigh and stepped out, throwing my blade at the two boys. I sliced Shark Boy in the leg as he moved out of the way, but cleanly dearmed the agent hiding behind him like a coward (and by “dearmed” I mean literally). He screamed in pain and was quickly silenced as I hit him with the blade again, hitting his chest so that he choked on his blood and saliva. The twin boys’ eyes widened and they stepped back, Electro-Boy almost stumbling over the last two agents that were hiding behind them. I raised an eyebrow, twirling the chain on my right so that the blade was flying in a deadly circle around my hand, glinting in the light.

“ _ Circe _ ,” the twins whispered incredulously, a newfound look of fear reaching their eyes. 

“Bingo!” Stark exclaimed, sending a pulse from the repulsor at the twins, hitting Shark Boy right in the chest. He flew backwards, his brother’s head snapping over to follow his brother’s flight through the air. “Ah-ha!” Before Stark could continue into laughter, Electro-Boy threw a repulsor-like ball of electricity, hitting Stark in his chest and short circuiting his suit. 

“Stark!” I gasped out, surprised that the ball of electricity could do that to his suit. He grunted as he fell to the ground, Electro-Boy gathering more power in his hands. 

_ “Tony?”  _ Steve asked worriedly. I could hear the others on the other line grow silent in their fights, focusing half of their attention on the comms and the other half in reality.  _ “Stark, report!” _ Stark let out a gurgling sound but said nothing. I could sense the electricity in the air and growled, my heart pounding and my thoughts going back to the conversation when my body was asleep.  _ They said they are my mates. Stark’s my mate. And he’s hurt.  _ Immediately, my Omega growled deep within the recesses of my mind, my eyes flashing with white.

**_Mate hurt,_ ** she growled in my head, making my eyes widen with slight surprise.  _ But we aren’t entirely sure! _ She heard my stray thoughts and snarled, completely taking over my body.  **_Mine._ ** Electro-Boy threw another ball of electricity at us -- Shark Boy finally able to stand up with burning clothes at the back of the hallway -- and I took the brunt of the attack. It burned my insides and I allowed myself to take the entirety of the pain so that my Omega would feel none of it, hurling her blade in response. 

The blade sliced Electro-Boy’s throat, blood falling down the front of his body. Shark Boy screamed out a name -- I couldn’t tell what it was -- and tears filled his eyes. But with glances between me, his brother’s body, and the hallway, he made the executive decision to run. My Omega snarled in response, ready to run after him until we heard Stark gurgling again. I took the reigns, stumbling over to Stark and ignoring the yelling over the comms. 

“We’re fine, you fucking idiots. Shut  _ up _ .” They quieted over the comms at my growl, and I took inventory of Stark’s injuries.

The Arc Reactor’s blue light was flickering, and I could still hear him gurgling. I felt my fingers around the side of his suit, trying to find a safety lock or something that would release him from the suit. Finally, I found a small handle on the front of his suit, under his helmet. The chest of his suit released a hiss as the front pieces retracted into the suit, Stark’s arc reactor and t-shirt covered chest in plain view. He was breathing heavily and, when I found the safety release under his chin and pulled it, his face was pale and blood was falling from his lips. I frowned, unable to look at his fearful eyes that were now searching my face, seeking help. 

My heart was pounding harshly against my ribcage as I took in his seemingly injury-free body.  _ No injuries topside meant injuries inside. Which means I have to heal him with my magic _ . Cursing under my breath, I took the ear piece out of both of our ears and turned them off. Stark just coughed, taking in deep, shuddering breaths. His eyes were panicked, but I knew he barely took note of me removing the comms -- well, unless he thought I was going to kill him. 

“You tell anyone about this, I’ll deny it and then kill you.  _ Painfully _ .” He nodded vigorously and I sighed. I couldn’t hate any of them even if I tried -- and I was  _ really  _ trying. 

I straddled his stomach, held his face in my hands, and leaned forward to put our foreheads together. He let out a high-pitched noise of confusion, but I ignored it, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath to focus my magic. I brought it up to the pads of my fingers and palms, but I couldn’t concentrate hard enough to release it into his skin. Huffing, I snapped my eyes open as he coughed blood out of his mouth, hitting me in the lips and chin. I gave him an unimpressed look and he choked out a sad “sorry.” I shook my head exasperatedly and took out my nose purifier, his eyes zeroing in on my movements with confusion. 

Taking in a deep breath, I took in his overpowering scent. I snarled, my eyes returning to the Omega White as I took in the overwhelming scent of blood mixed in with his sandalwood, motor oil, and typical rich-man cologne. I put my head back down to his own, our foreheads touching and my hair covering our heads and my hands. Eyes connected, I took deep breaths of his scent to help center my magic. My hands glowed a pale, sky blue on where our skin touched, and I watched as his eyes widened with surprise as my magic quickly (but efficiently) healed his inward injuries. When my magic flowed through his body and came back to me, seeing there were no more wounds to heal, I let go of him and leaned back a bit. His eyes were still on me, awe and excitement swirling in his eyes. 

“So.  _ You’re  _ my elusive soulmate.” He glanced off to the side, an uncertain look appearing in his eyes. I narrowed my eyes at him. “I have been looking for you for  _ twenty years _ , you ass; well, forty-six, technically, since I started looking when I hit sixteen. Anyways, not the point. We’re talking about not telling me you were my soulmate later,  _ Stark _ . ” He grew an incredulous look that I could have laughed at. Instead, I gave him a mock-pout and shook my head. “To think you could have already been mated to me if you just  _ said  _ something.” His eyes suddenly became lustful and he let out a low growl, his eyes flickering between gold and brown. “Think of all the awesome sex we could have had. Too bad.” I tsked, a smirk coming to my lips. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I raised an eyebrow and licked my lips out of habit, tasting his blood. I flinched at the taste, getting off of him and spitting it out. “Ugh, gross. Stark, what the fuck.” He let out a gruff, harsh and startled laugh, standing up shakily and closing the chest of his suit. 

“Sorry, hot stuff,” he drawled huskily, his eyes pure brown but blown with lust. I rolled my eyes and took out the tiny bag still hidden in my bra. I pulled out the new nose purifier and stuck it in, breathing in fresh, scent-muted air once again. His eyebrows furrowed. “What is that?” I opened my mouth to comment when I heard a screech over the intercom. 

**_“I want them all dead, now!”_ **

“Who the hell was that?” I clenched my jaw, throwing the comm to Stark. He caught it easily, but he was confused at my stoic expression. I put my own in, hearing the same question on the other line -- Romanoff and Wilson yelling my name with annoyance. 

**_“Bring the blue-haired bitch to me alive.”_ **

“That is Amy, the mother of the kid I just killed.” I placed the small bag back in my bra. “Stark, we need to-,” a familiar tendril of plant shot out from the dark hallway Shark Boy had run down, wrapping around my left ankle and cutting me off. Stark raised his repulsor to blast it, but another hit him the side, throwing him into the wall before tightly wrapping itself around my other ankle. “Fuck. Bob! Now is  _ not  _ the time!” The plant yanked my feet out from under me and I landed on my ass. “Ow, my ass!”  _ Deja Vu. _

And then I was pulled down the hallway. 

On my ass.

Getting tile-burn on my  _ fucking  _ ass.

**_“Circe, Stark,”_ ** Barnes said sternly, his voice deep and full of Alpha,  **_“report. Now.”_ ** I was relatively silent after the comments, gasping as I harshly hit the walls. 

_ “I got hit by one of the experiments and my arc reactor was somehow short-circuited,” _ Stark grunted. I could hear Stark’s suit flying after me, but I was going pretty fast.  _ “Circe saved my life, but this giant plant grabbed her. I’m in pursuit.” _ I yelped as I was thrown into another wall, passing three HYDRA agents.

_ “A giant what?” _ Wilson asked breathlessly.  _ “That venus fly trap on steroids has moveable vines?” _ Stark cursed as he met the HYDRA agents for a battle.

“Yes!” I let out another squeal as I was brought towards more agents. One was holding his gun up, about to shoot me, but I threw my weapon outwards when I passed them. I laughed gleefully as I sliced their feet clean off their bodies, the agents crying out in pain after I did so. I raised my hips up slightly so that I would be sliding mostly on my back. “Ooh, this is fun, now! Wheeee!” 

The Betas on the other line were not impressed, speaking in swift yet serious tones about this issue, but it didn’t matter, I was on them in seconds. Wanda and Vision were now fighting beside the Falcon and Peter, looking a bit worse for wear. Penny and Lenny were howling with maniacal laughter, similar to hyenas, and four Winter Soldiers were focusing their brute strength on Peter. Wanda was focusing on Mikey, and Vision seemed to be meditating in the corner for some godly reason. My own maniacal laughter brought their eyes to me and I smiled happily up at the shocked faces of Wanda and Falcon (who were flying above the groups) as I zoomed underneath them. 

“Hi, guys! Nice weather we’re having!” I threw out my weapon and sliced the feet off of two of the soldiers, missing the experiments by a lot. “Oops, hope you didn’t like walking  _ that  _ much, assholes!” Wanda and Falcon quickly killed the fallen two Winter Soldiers as Peter webbed up the other two soldiers that were very much distracted. Penny, Lenny, and Mikey ignored their fallen comrades and focused on me, standing idly and watching as I glided by. I almost made it to the doorway when Mikey spoke.

“Circe?” Mikey called out, confused. I grabbed the doorframe, grunting as I felt Bob pull harshly on my ankles. I looked up at the schizophrenic man, his head cocking. “I thought you were  _ dead _ .” I laughed, shaking my head as my brow started to release pained sweat.

“Not yet, Mikey-Bear!” I let go of the doorframe, turning back onto my back so that I could slide along easily as I listened to his roar of rage. 

_ “I hate that name! Ahhh!” _ Mikey’s screaming did not deter my laughter, though it did get cut off when Bob threw me into passing walls. 

_ “Thanks, crazy,” _ Falcon said, voice finally firm as Mikey’s screams cut off.  _ “Vision got rid of the psychotic man. Circe and us got rid of the four Winter Soldiers. Focusing attack on mutant dogs, now.” _ Rogers acknowledged Falcon’s words but didn’t say his own status. 

_ “Where are you, Circe?” _ Rogers asked, right as I hit another wall. 

“Oof!” The next fight I was pulled through was Loki and Thor’s. “Near Thor and Loki!” 

Thor had successfully taken down Jerry, but Blobby was still standing tall with half of Loki’s body submerged in the gooey mess. Thor was pulling on Loki, trying to get him out of the mostly stagnant blob to no success. I looked between the numerous objects I was going to be maneuvered around before I reached the door, and realized that I would move right behind Thor. If I could grab onto Loki, I could pull him out of Blobby. Maybe tell them the best way to kill it, too. Nodding to myself, I was twisted awkwardly around an upturned desk mere feet away from the two Asgardians. 

“Thor!” Both of their heads snapped over to me, eyes widening as they watched me be pulled along. “Let me grab onto Loki, I can pull him out!” Thor blinked and nodded, moving quicker than I expected by grabbing onto the vines and swinging me up. 

I was high enough to grab Loki’s hands, but Thor was in the way. With my hands tightly wrapped around Loki’s wrists, our arms plowed into Thor and made him fall. It didn’t bother either of us, though, considering Bob’s strength was slowly pulling Loki out of the blue/green blob. I grunted in pain as my left ankle snapped loudly at the strain of the vines. Loki and a dazed Thor looked at me with worry, but I didn’t allow them time to say anything.

“Loki, when I get you out of Blobby, you need to start a fire,” I told them in one of my rare moments of seriousness. Thor looked confused, but Loki was listening intently to me. “I don’t care how you do it, just start a fire and leave. Blobby is too slow and the chemicals he is made out of will glue him to the floor in the extreme heat.” Loki was almost out of Blobby’s gooey hold, his calves-downward remaining. “Okay?” He nodded vigorously and I grunted in pain as my other ankle was snapped, my sweaty fingers slipping from around his wrists just as he became free. “Ahh!” I hit the ground hard, my shoulder bruising majorly.

“Lady Circe!” They called in unison. I turned onto my back once again and allowed Bob’s vines to pull me away, waving my hand.

“I’ll be fine! Set the fire and go help the others!”


	8. "I Need a Very Stiff Drink."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Amelia. I do not like it when people touch my stuff."
> 
> "This belongs to me, you entitled, pathetic bitch."
> 
> "You can lie to yourself all you want, Circe, but you cannot lie to me. I am a part of you; I know you better than you think."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You cry about this,  
> And whine about that.  
> When you grow a pair,  
> You can call me back.
> 
> \-- Ke$ha, "Grow a Pear"

**Hey, everyone!**

**Sorry about taking so long on this chapter! At one point, I lost motivation to write it, and focused on either reading fanfiction (lol) or writing parts to my other works. But then, I had a great idea about what I should write after the fight scene (at the end of this chapter and the beginning of next), and spent the last four days writing (and rewriting) this chapter.**

**The next chapter _(Chapter Nine)_ may take a while, as well, but definitely not as long as twenty-or-so days (lol). Should be a week or so. I literally just finished chapter eight!!**

**Of course, there may be some confusion, so if that happens, leave the question in the comments below and I will answer them in the next chapter!**

I managed to only hit my bad shoulder twice on the walls as I was pulled along, maneuvering around so that either my back or other shoulder were rammed instead. I grunted in pain as my ribs hit the corner of a wall leading into a previously used room, passing the carcasses of many HYDRA agents and the fluffy remains of Fluffy. I frowned as I was pulled through the giant bear’s puddle of blood.

“My condolences, Fluffy,” I called out as I passed his remains, saluting him with my good hand. “I will adopt a giant, fluffy ass dog and name him after you. Promise!” I heard an incredulous snort on the other line -- one that sounded suspiciously like Romanoff -- but it was cut off immediately. Other than that, all I could hear were the grunting of pain, the yells of victory, the stern orders of the Captain, and the sound of a crackling fire. 

_“Circe, report!”_ Stark called out, catching my attention. _“I lost sight of you! Where are you?”_ I glanced around at the gray hallways I was being pulled through, scowling in distaste. 

“I don’t _know_ , these hallways all look the goddamn same!” I called back, squealing as I was picked up off of the ground and thrown into a wall. “Ugh. I _hate_ Venus Fly Traps.” I fell back to the floor and grunted again, the vines moving up to wrap around my thighs. 

My ankles were trying to heal up before any more damage happened to my body, but unfortunately, that did not happen. The vines squeezed and moved my legs around roughly, beginning to pull me along once again with still-broken ankles. The resounding snap of my fibulas breaking and the sharp pain of them fighting their way out of my calves made a strangled scream of agony escape my lips, sweat sliding down my forehead and into my stinging eyes. Quickly, Bob’s vines pulled me into a new hallway, and I could hear the sounds of fighting coming closer -- past the sounds coming from the comms. 

“After this _stupid_ , _fucking_ mission,” I spat, groaning through clenched teeth at the pain my lower half was in, “I am going to commit mass plant genocide. Down with all the baby Bobs and Bobettes! _Fuck_ Venus Fly Traps.” No one on the other line found it as amusing as I did, and as I got closer to the gray, dull double-doors at the end of the hallway, I could tell why.

The sounds of yelling and shooting was getting louder until I was pulled through the doorway, the doors hitting the walls with loud bangs. It seemed like all of the Avengers were now in this one main room -- an old training room that was big enough to house all of them -- along with a handful of HYDRA agents, Bob in the back, and remaining experiments (though Mikey, Electro-Boy, and the dogs were revived and fighting vigorously). The banging caught everyone’s attention, and I could see the Alpha males on the Avengers Team sporting angry golden eyes. I was pulled past Dr. Banner’s body, his bloodied head being looked at by Loki as Wanda and Pietro covered him. Rogers and Barnes tried to grab me as I glided between them, but they were unable to do so. My grip on my blade was weak, my hands covered in sweat, but I still threw it out to slice the feet off of human HYDRA agents as I passed them. 

Suddenly, I was airborne and upside down, the vines moving up and wrapping around my entire body to keep me still. My scythed blade fell to the floor with a clang and my lips twitched into a frown. Bob had grown much bigger in the past two decades. He now had three giant maws that could fit many bodies, multiple smaller maws that could only do one body at a time, and so many vines and roots that I could not tell where they began and where they ended. I blinked and finally noticed who stood before me: _Amy_. She was much older, now -- her blonde hair was now gray, her blue eyes a murky grey, and her neck covered in wrinkling skin though her face was young and pristine. She was in her early fifties, at least, and her smug, superiority-complex grin was just like what I remembered. Electro-Boy and Shark-Boy stood on her right side, keeping their glaring eyes on the Avengers, and Kaos stood on her left, the same grin of smug satisfaction on his face. Mikey was muttering underneath his breath, his eyes shifty and panicked. 

“ _Circe_ ,” Amy breathed, her coffee-breath gliding along my face, “I thought you were dead.” Mikey giggled loudly -- _“that’s what I said, that’s what I said!”_ \-- but Amy ignored him, her smile turning sickly sweet. “ _Kaos_ and I have missed you greatly.” The air became thick as low growls from the Avengers sounded through the comms. I grimaced, glancing over at the stuck-up, smug and smirking prick. 

His hair was still the color of shit, eyes the color of shit, and face similar to a monkey’s ass. When I had met him almost a decade ago, I thought he was rather cute. But then he rambled about how great he was and _ruined_ it -- stopping our make-out session to spew all of the annoying shit. I was quite glad he excused himself to the bathroom so that I could blow up the joint and kill everyone in there. _(At least, I am pretty sure I did. Kaos might have revived a few of them after I left, seeing as I didn’t make sure he was dead. That could be a problem in the near future.)_ He stepped forward, moving closer to Amy and placing an arm around her waist. He was close to forty, by now, but he didn’t have many gray hairs or wrinkles -- practically none.

“I like what you’ve done with your hair,” Kaos said smoothly, the smug smirk remaining as he reached out to play with a strand of my hair, his eyes shining the Alpha gold in anger as a thought passed through his head. “You tried to blow me up twelve years ago. That was a bitch move.” He sneered down at me, his shitty looking face screwing up in a scowl. “Is it because I wouldn’t have sex with you?” I snorted at his words, fully amused at his firm belief that I would have wanted him at all. Amy’s eyes flashed to Beta Blue with jealousy as she looked between the two of us. The twins seemed to grimace off her side, making me wonder if Kaos was their father.

“Oh, _sweetie_ ,” I cooed mockingly, “you were not -- and are _still_ not important enough for me to waste my energy on killing you. And you _wish_ you could have had sex with me, you arrogant, flaccid jackass.” His smug smirk dropped as his face grew red with anger. “ _First_ of all, all we did was make-out because you were in the way and I needed you distracted. Second of all, you opened your mouth and spouted about how good you were in bed, in life, and how you thought Omegas were beneath you.” I gave him a sickly sweet smile. “That usually signifies that you’re _underpar_ compared to other Alphas, if you know what I mean. I bet Amy cheated on you the first chance she got.” He snarled and his hand snapped forward into my nose, breaking it with a resounding crack. Immediately, snarls rose from the Avengers, and I could hear Rogers barking out orders quietly through the comm. My body swayed back and I grunted at the pain, feeling my eyes water at the injury though my lips twitching into a smirk. “Is that all you got? That was pretty _Omega_ to me.” I laughed at my own joke, ignoring the snarls he was releasing. Amy held him back, though, and glared at me. 

“That is irrelevant,” Amy said firmly, sneering at me. She looked weird upside down. “You have arrived just in time, Soldier. It seems we are in need of your help.” She waved her hand to the Avengers. “These _criminals_ have broken into our home, and they’ve killed off many of our old, loyal friends -- including my son, Diego.” She glanced over at her sons. “My other son, Marcus, was seeing things. Stark killed my son a bit ago, and Kaos revived him. You are required to avenge my son’s life and kill them all. I want them tortured for their secrets and have their bodies dismembered and burned, _immediately_ .” I clenched my jaw, raising an eyebrow as I wondered what she was thinking. She smirked. **_“Homecoming; Daybreak.”_ **

There was a sharp, surprised gasp from Wanda, Barnes releasing a low growl. Rogers was muttering to me through the comms. _(“Don’t fall into it, Circe. You’re stronger than that.”)_ I rolled my eyes, and let out a laugh, surprising the two HYDRA agents in front of me.

“I think the words you are looking for are: _please_ and _thank you_.” 

Kaos’ fist hit my face once again, my cheek bruising immediately. I heard a singular shot of warning from one of the Winter Soldiers as some of the Avenger Alphas moved forward, snarling. Amy waved her hand, a sheer cloud of dust flying up and into their eyes and making them growl loudly and curse. _Huh. She got a bit more powerful compared to twenty years ago_. Amy had a displeased scowl on her face, making her neck wrinkles pop out.

“Well, that is unfortunate.” I raised an eyebrow at her, bored. “Maybe Marcus was right and you _did_ kill my Diego.” I glanced over at the twins, their faces impassive yet their eyes showing malicious intent. “Was he correct in that claim?” I briefly wondered why she was being so formal, but pushed the annoying question away. 

I could hear the low mutterings of the Avengers in my ear, Romanoff and Rogers talking back and forth about contingency plans and how to retreat with everyone still intact. Loki had finished with Dr. Banner, though he was still passed out, so there was the possibility of having him teleport them out. Or at least cast some type of illusion. Barnes inputted some directions out of the facility, but Stark and Vision were picking the plans apart to show the flaws each had. I licked my lips, trying to focus with the sweat still burning my eyes. Amy did not like my silence, her murky grey eyes now reminding me of ice as they hardened. 

“Because if it is true,” she began again, her voice growing louder and catching everyone’s attention, “then that means you have gone against us; your _family_ .” I snorted. She raised an eyebrow, but breezed past it. “And I know you would never do that. You were just confused, all those years ago. You forgot who your friends were, with all that _brainwashing_ .” She ran a fingernail down the side of my face, chin to temple. “I told them it was a terrible idea, but of course, your father didn’t agree with me. And we both knew you would _never_ go against your father.” I let out loud laughter at that, shaking my head in amusement.

“I think _you_ were the one brainwashed, _Amelia_ .” Her eyes flashed Beta Blue with annoyance (she hated her full name). “I hated my father. In fact, I was the one who killed him. Best decision of my _life_ .” Her lips twisted into a snarl and the vines twisted painfully around me. I clenched my jaw but made no sounds of pain. “And you seem...to be confused. I left of my own...volition.” The vines twisted harder and there was a crack from one of my ribs. I grunted, unable to hide the pain. Amy’s grin turned malicious, and it annoyed me. A thought popped up, and a choked laugh escaped my lips -- my brain faintly registering the mutterings of a plan from behind me. “Can’t say I’m surprised...that you were unable to find me. You...always were bed-smart and not...book-smart.” She leered at me and opened her mouth to reply, but I continued, “Then again, SHIELD hid me _very_ well.” 

The room went quiet with tension, Kaos moving away from the dust-bender. Amy’s face was blank, processing what I was saying.

“ _SHIELD_?” She asked, voice void of emotion. I coughed out blood and smirked. “For all these years, you have been with SHIELD. How much have you told them?” I leaned forward slightly and grinned just as sickly sweet as she did.

_“Everything.”_

Within seconds, Amy was screeching with anger and I was flown around the room, smashing into walls, the floor, and even the ceiling. I screamed with pain as I was thrown around like a ragdoll, Stark and the other Alphas yelling my name and the sound of shooting guns and repulsors sounding. Amy was screeching with anger, yelling question after question as my bloodied body was thrown into everything over and over again. I was blinded by the pain, and my body couldn’t heal with the constant onslaught of injuries. Soon enough, my voice was gone, my entire skeleton was broken, and I was covered in blood. My muscles and nerves were aching with pain, but I could feel them slowly mending as adrenaline was forced into my veins, numbing the pain for only a few minutes. With eyes that were swollen-closed, I held my breath as the slamming and throwing continued until I was finally in front of Amy once again. 

“ _Finally_ !” Amy cried out, laughter escaping her lips. “You’re finally dead. Ugh, this is such a burden off of my shoulders!” I could hear snarling and screaming from the Avengers, Stark being the loudest and Rogers being the sternest as Alpha Tones were used. My Omega was shivering happily inside of my head, completely disregarding the pain I was currently in. “Oh? Whored yourself out for a few powerful mates, did you? Too bad.” Amy laughed again before it was cut off with the loud sound of thunder. She snarled, the sound of metal scraping against the floor hitting my ears as she picked up my weapon. “Bob. _Dinner_.” 

“No! Circe!” Peter cried, the guttural cry of a fellow Omega in pain making me flinch. 

The vines wiggled happily around me and moved my body higher until I was close to the biggest jaw of them all. I forced open my swollen eyes just as I fell into Bob’s open mouth. Peter was forcing himself forward, along with a pained Stark, but the experiments were holding them back very well. I saw a blur of blue and green move on the ground and, just as the jaws of the Venus Fly trap closed, I connected eyes with a scared Pietro and a furious Loki. I could hear the yelling get louder, but it was now successfully muffled with the jaws of plant death around me. 

I grunted in annoyance and pain as my innards focused on healing. The sickly sweet scent of Bob’s lure was clogging my nose (almost making me sneeze), and I could feel the slickness of its digestive glands releasing toxins to kill and breakdown my body. It burned at my skin for a few seconds before my skin became numb. I closed my eyes again and pulled forth my magic. I could feel it wrapping around my body like a translucent cocoon, protecting me from the digestive fluids as my punctured lungs healed completely. 

There was a flash of shadowy movement from outside of the jaws and a rush of fluids fell onto my cocoon before I was suddenly falling. I almost grunted at the impact, the closed jaw bouncing a couple of feet away until it suddenly stopped and snapped open. I felt the cool air brush against my skin and took in a deep breath. The fighting was raging, now, and I could hear Kaos as he kept reviving the Winter Soldiers and experiments once they had fallen. A shadow passed over my body and I opened my eyes, seeing Loki crouching down above me with intense eyes and a stone expression. 

“Lady Circe,” Loki muttered in a breathy voice that sent a shudder down my broken spine. “Stay still.” He reached out to place a hand on my cheek but was met with the rock-hard, invisible shield my magic had created. His eyebrows furrowed as he pushed on it experimentally, feeling the same resistance. His eyes glowed a bright emerald green as he tried again, and I smirked at the surprise lighting his eyes once he could see the magical cocoon. “You have _magic_.” I could hear him begin to utter words, but they were in a different language.

I took a deep breath and was met with the strong scent of blood from the fight. I looked over, past Loki, and huffed at seeing Romanoff compromised. She was standing next to Barton and Barnes, a grimace of pain on her face as she ignored the scratch on her stomach. I squinted at her wound, assessing it, and then looked around the room for the weapon that made it.

My eyes turned white with anger when I realized Amy was using my scythed blade. _(While it could be argued that I hated the blade because my shitty father gave it to me, it was still mine, and I hated people touching my stuff.)_ I growled menacingly, the sound making Loki pause in his muttering and shudder in my peripheral. _(Which would make sense if he was my mate.)_ The Avenger Alpha males froze, their heads snapping to me and glowing gold eyes running over my broken, still-in-the-plant-jaw-on-the-floor form -- the Betas, Gamma, and Alpha Female huffing with annoyance as they covered the distracted males. Peter let out a victorious “whoop!” and began webbing up the surrounding agents, a smile most likely gracing his face.

“ _You_ ,” Amy stuttered, her voice shaking with anger, “how are you still alive?” I glanced at Loki, motioning my head slightly in an effort to make him leave. His eyes were stone as he glared at me, firmly denying my silent request. I huffed and rolled my eyes.

My bones snapped back into place loudly, causing a pause in the gun-firing. My feet and ankles healed first, and then my calves and thighs, torso and arms. I grunted and rolled out of the plant jaw and onto the hard floor, holding myself up on my forearms and knees as my back and neck snapped into place, and finishing with my skull. When my skull was complete and nothing major was no longer trying to be healed, I shook my head and moved to stand, slowly. 

“Kaos, is this your doing?” Amy’s screeching hurt my eardrums. “You two-timing, arrogant, manipulative asshole!” I clenched my jaw and rolled my head, popping the newly fixed bones. “You just couldn’t be satisfied with me and the twins. Ugh, typical Alpha Male arrogance.” My eyes landed on Amy swirling a pathetic dust storm around Kaos, his eyes narrowed in anger and annoyance. She screamed at him, and I waved my hand, her voice muting. 

“Amelia,” I began, catching the attention I didn’t have, “I do not like it when people touch my stuff.” I held out my hand and my scythed blade flew back to me, similar to Thor’s hammer. “This belongs to _me,_ you entitled, pathetic _bitch_.” Her eyes blazed with fury.

Once the handle of the blade touched my fingers, I sighed in relief. Pulling from the magical energy I had stored in the handle when I embedded it in my father’s skull years prior, I changed my gear to something more suitable _(the same outfit I wore when saving the Avengers weeks prior)_ , removed the blood that was staining my skin and hair, and put the new comm in my ear _(it was the only thing still working, my phone completely smashed)_ . Waving my right hand, I broke the necks of every HYDRA agent and Winter Soldier _(excluding Barnes, of course)_ in the building. Their bodies fell with loud thuds, making Amy and her sons jump in shock and fear. Mikey was cackling in the corner, Penny and Lenny sitting beside him as they waited for orders.

I moved forward quickly towards Amy, the dust settling as she held her throat and trying to speak. With a quick slice in the air with my scythe, my magic morphed it into a black and silver blade, glinting ominously in the light. She threw her hands up, screaming silently as I sliced my sword down, cutting from her right shoulder to left hip easily. It was silent for a second before the top half of her body slid down the other half, the diagonally cut top half falling onto the floor with a sick thud. The twins screamed for their mother, many of the Avengers gagged, and Mikey gasped loudly. Kaos was slowly backing away, looking at Amy’s body with shock and disgust. I turned my gaze onto him and watched as he paled and stumbled backwards, snapping his fingers multiple times.

Penny and Lenny were suddenly rushing me, snarling and snapping at me. They were much bigger than I remembered them, too. They would have reached my stomach like normal irish wolfhounds, but they didn’t get the chance. I spared them no attention as I waved my hand, freezing them in their movements with a hue royal blue light of my magic surrounding them. They levitated a few centimeters off of the ground as my magic held them in place. Mikey whimpered, his eyes watching the two dogs with significant worry and concern, but I ignored him, continuing my walk towards Kaos. He clenched his jaw and grabbed the tiny machine gun off of one of the fallen agents, his eyes glowing gold with anger. 

My blade glinted in the light and I smirked with sick, malicious glee filling me with an addictive high that made my blood pump. 

“Get back, you fucking bitch!” Kaos screamed at me, pointing the handheld machine gun at me. I laughed and moved towards him faster, my smirk growing into a genuinely evilly excited grin. He flinched and stumbled back again, pulling the trigger and shooting shakily.

 **“Get down!”** Rogers called out sternly, his eyes still gold and angry. I heard the Avengers scramble to get cover, the distant clanging of bullets flying off of his shield, Barnes’ arm, and the two Stark-made suits reaching my ears. Loki had teleported over to his brother and Pietro, who were standing next to the now-conscious Dr. Banner, and created a barrier of magic to protect the team. 

Unfortunately, he was unable to protect Amy’s twins, Mikey, and the remaining dogs. I could hear their screams as the bullets passed through (and around) my body to hit the vulnerable ones. Marcus and Diego cried out in pain before they were silenced, and Mikey tried to throw the bullets back with his powers to no avail. Penny and Lenny were the only ones who didn’t make a noise, the first couple of bullets they were hit with being in the head. I felt a tad guilty about letting the dogs and the young boys die -- too close to Peter’s age for my liking -- but I reminded myself that it wasn’t my fault. It was Kaos’. 

Kaos’ eyes ran over my body as I moved closer, the bullets spraying my blood everywhere behind me but healing quickly as my magic worked to heal them. His gun finally stopped shooting, and he dropped it on the floor, deciding hand-to-hand combat was his best bet. He threw a punch at me, but I stopped it with my hand, throwing his arm to the side and pushing his chest back harshly so that he flew and landed against the wall. I took three large steps towards him and held up my blade, holding it to his throat with a mocking smirk.

“Rogers.” My voice was clipped and firm. I could see the multicolored shield move a bit before he stood up, his eyes on me. “Did you need him for questioning or something?” Rogers was silent and I could hear the muttering from Stark, Wilson, Romanoff, and Barnes in my ear. I stared at the shaking man, raising an eyebrow at the fear in his eyes. “ _Well_?”

“Yes, we need him alive,” Rogers replied with a sigh _(there were two firm ‘no’s)._ I could feel the displeasure coming from Thor and Loki, but they remained silent on the subject. 

“Pity.” I put my palm to his head and put him to sleep, his body falling forward onto the ground. My blade morphed back into the scythe and chain, and I sighed. 

Barnes was soon beside me, his flesh hand on my torso as he checked me for wounds. I raised an eyebrow at his movements, debating on whether I should push him away or not before noticing the gold eyes. I huffed inwardly at the typical Alpha traits as the others came forward. Vision already had Kaos floating next to him, Wanda waving her hands to keep the necromancer fully out of it. Part of me hoped she was giving him bad dreams. 

“Are you okay, Circe?” Peter asked worriedly, trying to remain in-character as we still had that plan going. I shrugged, muttering a low _“sure,”_ as I thought about my plans. I was unsure if I wanted to complete the plan now that Stark was revealed to truly be my mate -- my Omega was scratching at the surface to be near him and make sure he was okay. 

_If he was being truthful, then the others are most likely truthful, as well._ I glanced at the others as Rogers and Dr. Banner were now surrounding me, pressing at my muscles and bones to make sure they were inplace. Stark, Thor, Loki and Pietro were standing off to the side, looking on with anxious eyes. I kept my face impassive and annoyed as I analyzed the situation. _They were on edge because of my extensive injuries. They refused to tell me they were my mates. Only Stark and Peter know of my nose purifier._ That thought irked me. _Banner said they did their research. Did they not believe that my products would do their intended jobs? Did they truly believe the nose purifiers -- made_ **_specifically_ ** _for survivors of abuse to hinder their sense of smell to hopefully allow fewer flashbacks -- did not work? Or did they not think I would have one in?_ I licked my lips, the men finally stepping away from me and losing the golden (/green) eyes. 

“Alright,” Rogers finally began, clearing his throat and catching everyone’s attention, “let’s get back to home base.” Stark was next to me instantly, wrapping an arm around my waist and walking beside me through the building. Peter’s spider eyes were on us, and I could feel the confusion radiating from his body, along with the others that were watching my movements. 

I was unsure if what I had done showed I could be trusted during a fight or not. And I was unsure if I could trust them, even if by proving Stark was truly my mate meant most of them were as well. It made me nervous thinking about it. _What if I was wrong, and they would only hurt me in the end?_ I clenched my jaw. _I have people waiting for me, and they kidnapped me. Mates or not, they had no right. It was wrong of them to do so, and it was annoying._ My Omega grumbled in my head at my choice. 

**But you like staying with them.** Her response caught me off guard. 

_No, I don’t. I like being with Rhodes, Peter, and Ned -- anyone would -- but the others were not fond of me, and vice versa._ She growled in my head, making her annoyance obvious. Images of Thor talking about me to Pepper, Fury giving me missions and laughing with me, Loki eyeing me with lust, Pietro and Wanda shyly smiling and waving at me, Dr. Banner speaking to me when no one else wanted to, Barton and Wilson screaming in terror at my van’s speed, and Stark smirking at my ill-placed (and rather stupid) jokes. Barnes and Rogers seemed to care whether I lived or not, along with Vision, but I didn’t know them too well. _Romanoff hates my guts. Can’t say it isn’t mutual._ My Omega rolled her eyes.

 **You can lie to yourself all you want, Circe,** she growled at me. **But you cannot lie to** **_me_ ** **. I am a part of you; I know you better than you think.** I frowned and came back to the present, the group rushing ahead of Stark and I as we carefully walked out of the building. 

It was still dark, but all of the agents inside of the building were dead. If I strained my ears to the demi-goddess half of me, I could hear distant sounds of helicopters and cars moving quickly towards us. Seeing as Loki and Thor were muttering quickly to Rogers and Barnes confirmed my suspicions that they could hear it, too. Stark’s arm tightened around my waist as he pulled me along. Half of me wanted to push the heavy arm away from me, but the other half didn’t care, simultaneously purring at being so close to him and the desperate need to breathe in his scent clawing at my soul. _(I blamed the Omega side for that.)_ A smug feeling seeped from my primal side, and I huffed inwardly.

 _It does not matter if I like him or not. He was a part of the reason I was kidnapped. They haven’t even apologized for it!_ She was unimpressed, pushing good parts forward -- which were few and far between. The group ahead of Stark and I made it to the black quinjet, unlocking and opening it so that they could get settled. 

“Loki, Bruce,” Rogers began, catching their attention, “you two help Romanoff and the others with their injuries. Clint, Rhodey, you two are on pilot duty.” Loki did not look entirely excited to help out, but he followed Dr. Banner nonetheless, healing the doctor’s profound headache that was left over from the previous healing session. Rhodey grunted, rolled his left arm, and clambered into the jet. 

Stark, however, was close behind him, pushing me in front of him before boarding the jet behind me, the doors closing immediately. I realized, then, that he was still wary of me leaving the group -- he wasn’t wrong, of course, but it was still annoying. I thinned my lips and said nothing as Stark walked me over to my original seat. I stood beside the seat for a few moments, looking at Stark with a raised eyebrow. 

His eyes were scanning my face, stopping on my nose and moving back to my eyes. He quirked an eyebrow and, assuming he was asking if I still had the nose purifier in, I nodded. His eyebrows furrowed and he gave me a disappointed look, to which I responded with a roll of my eyes, flopping down on my seat and crossing my legs and arms. Stark sighed audibly and stood there for a few moments, an unsure look on his face until he finally decided on walking to the cockpit. I took in a deep, silent breath to calm my outrageously pumping heart and waited.

“Wanda, Vision, take Kaos to the holding cell. Keep an eye on him; we don’t want him awake while we are transporting him to the tower.” Rogers had everyone’s eyes on him, and it appeared like they didn’t realize Stark and I had a moment. _(The thought of having a_ ** _moment_** _with anyone_ _made me want to gag.)_ The two Avengers nodded, walked towards a door near my singular seat in the back, and pressed in a pin I couldn’t see. The doors slid open quickly and even quicker when all three of them were through, granting me no time to see what the hallway had inside of it. 

The Avengers were now mulling around the jet, Stark, Rhodes, and Barton already starting up the jet and bickering. I leaned my head back against the headrest as I watched the others undress certain parts of their uniforms to show off their wounds. Some of the wounds were minor and could be cleaned and bandaged by Dr. Banner, but others were deep cuts and sprained bones that Loki’s healing magic would be better suited to help. Barnes had his entire tactical shirt and vest off to heal a scratch that went from his left shoulder to his right pectoral, naturally grabbing my eyes and spurring dirty thoughts. Rogers simply had his suit unzipped and pulled down to his waist, his tank top underneath showing off his arm with a singular bullet wound. It was off to the side, merely a scrape, so it didn’t look too bad. Compared to the others, those two were the most undressed, and due to their glances over at me and at each other, I had a feeling I knew exactly what they were trying to do: trying to stoke my lust.

And from the amused looks given to them by the other Avengers -- Stark, Wilson, Barton, and Rhodes being the most prominent -- I knew I was right.

I coughed once to hide my laughter, turning my head and eyes towards the ceiling of the jet. _I mean, they_ **_are_ ** _hot,_ I thought idly, my Omega supplying various images of what they would look like naked in my mind, _but I still have my purifier in, so I can’t be wooed as easily as I can be without it. If I could actually recognize them as my mate like I could Stark, I would have already jumped their bones._ The thought sent a smirk to my lips and I rolled my eyes. 

I could feel the jet slowly begin to rise into the sky and sighed, closing my eyes with a growing feeling of exhaustion. I was sore down to my bones -- something which would go away easily if I had the soothing bath salts from my home -- but my magic was barely a quarter depleted. I had more than enough magic to heal myself, but unfortunately, I couldn’t use it to heal myself, just others (which is bullshit). I pondered the thought of taking a nap, but I could hear the helicopters growing nearer and Rogers pulling Stark away to speak to him.

It was then I realized my comm flew out at the HYDRA base. I wondered if they still had their comms in, or if they had taken them out (or lost them, as well) once we arrived at the jet.

 _“How bad was it?”_ Rogers asked in a low voice, sounding worried. My demi-goddess hearing automatically took effect as I listened to the breathing of the two Alphas. _“Did she really save your life? I thought she hated us.”_ My eyebrows almost furrowed at that, but I schooled my expression, trying to take a nap. It was silent, and I could feel eyes on me.

 _“The kid short circuited my suit and practically electrocuted me.”_ Stark’s voice was calm, but I could hear the undertones of worry and fear that laced it. He was very close to dying, and if I wasn’t there, he most likely would have. Again. _“She got rid of the kids and managed to unlock parts of my suit before healing me.”_ There were pauses around the room: Dr. Banner pausing in his wrapping of Wilson’s scraped arm, Thor and Pietro pausing their low conversation, Romanoff tensing in her seat and standing abruptly to walk towards them.

Either they had their comms in, still, and didn’t think I did, or they all had remarkable hearing. I voted for the first one.

 _“What do you mean she_ **_healed_ ** _you?”_ She hissed in a whisper. I could hear the others begin moving again, feel their eyes fall on me every other second. 

_“I meant just that: she_ **_healed_ ** _me.”_ Stark was silent, sighing once. _“At first, I thought it was just that -- she could heal people, that’s why she was kept alive for so long with HYDRA. But after everything she did in there, I don’t think she has just mutant healing powers.”_ Romanoff sighed, and I could picture her rubbing her temples with annoyance.

 _“Then what the hell is she?”_ It was silent.

 _“I don’t know.”_ Stark’s honest response surprised the group into silence. 

He had been honest before, I assume, but the way he said it this time, it sounded as if he was just as lost as the others. They truly had no idea who or what I was -- just some blue-haired chick that saved them, that happens to be a mercenary and CEO of an established company, that happens to have a mutant healing factor power, that happens to be close with their pup and their boss, and appears to be their mate without realizing it. They were lost and, for once, I felt bad. 

_“And...I think she_ **_genuinely_ ** _doesn’t know we are her mates.”_ A tension grew around the group, and Barnes let out a loud growl. I opened my eyes and narrowed them on the said male. It was silent, Rogers and Stark eyeing me as I glared at Barnes, who glared right back at me -- confusion in his eyes.

“Shut up. I’m trying to take a nap,” I grumbled, leaning my head back again and closing my eyes with a huff. Barton, Rhodes, and Wilson chuckled under their breaths, and it became silent once again. Rogers sighed, sounding torn. _(I could hear the helicopters getting closer.)_

 _“We’ll have to talk about this later,”_ Rogers muttered to the team, ignoring the indigent sounds of disagreement that responded. _“Loki and Thor said they could hear helicopters and armored trucks making their way to the base. Someone at the base must have alerted them.”_ Rhodes and Barton cursed under their breath, flipping numerous switches.

 _“They’re getting closer,”_ Barnes muttered, moving towards them with a rustle of fabric. _“We need to hide the jet.”_ Stark snorted, and I could feel the jet begin to move higher.

 _“‘Hide the jet,’ he says,”_ Stark scoffed. _“It’s not that easy, Robocop. We will still pop up on their radars with or without the proper stealth shields up. The only thing we can do is go up higher and, if they follow, shoot them down.”_ Barnes sighed and the group began making suggestions on what they should do. Rhodes began talking in code, communicating with basecamp where Fury, Agent Hill, and FRIDAY were located. 

“Well, what about Loki?” Bartone asked in a normal pitch. His tone was loud enough for me to pretend I woke up to, snapping my eyes open and sitting forward while blinking blearily. Rogers and Barnes were looking at me while I ran my eyes over the team, but looked away when my eyes landed on them. Romanoff was giving me a stone cold look, but I could see the curiosity in her eyes staring at me blatantly. Thor furrowed his eyebrows, glancing at his brother before stepping forward -- most likely to stop the team from putting his brother in danger or fighting.

“What about me?” Loki asked, curious yet stoic, moving his hands away from Dr. Banner’s head. From the looks of it, everyone was patched up and dressed normally, so Loki had begun healing the headache the doctor was plagued with. 

“There are HYDRA aircrafts getting closer,” Barton began, pressing a button to turn off the lights above us that were glaringly obvious in the dark sky. “Some of us think hiding the plane is the best solution, and others think we should shoot them down.” Loki tilted his head, listening to the helicopters as they got closer. 

“Removing the aircrafts is the best choice. Thor will be the best help,” he sniffed haughtily. “Lightning _is_ his forte.” Stark cheered, grinning maniacally at the blonde giant. 

Thor raised an eyebrow, looking between his brother and Stark. He opened his mouth to respond, but there was a sharp jolt. I yelped as I rolled out of my seat and onto the floor, Pietro and Peter following suit. Pietro let out a loud _“shit!”_ as his back hit the wall harshly.

“What was that?” Rogers barked, glancing over the team. A red light flashed before it faded, more switches and buttons pressed.

“They got us,” Rhodes stated, moving the jet down.

“You okay, Circe?” Peter asked worriedly, sitting well over ten feet away from me. Romanoff was grinning, her eyes maliciously amused. Dr. Banner was standing, holding onto the seats and making his way towards me with Loki on his heels, both wearing worried expressions. I could have rolled my eyes at how quickly they bypassed Pietro, who was now sitting on his knees and rubbing at his tailbone. Peter was beside him, following suit, but now strapped in.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” I grumbled, waving the two green-loving men away. They both gave me unimpressed looks, but couldn’t say anything as the jet jolted again. Red lights flashed multiple times before they eventually faded, Rhodes and Barton cursing up a storm.

“Everyone, get in your seats,” Barton ordered. We scrambled to follow his orders, Pietro sitting in the chair closest to me with a fearful look on his face. Idly, I noted that this was a terrible first Official Avengers Mission for Pietro, Peter, and myself. “Vision, Wanda. There are seats in the walls near the holding cells. Get them open and buckle up.” There was a short pause as they responded. “Thor, if you’re going to swing some lighting, do it fast.” 

Thor nodded and rushed towards the quinjet doors, near the buttons that would release the steel doors (as if we were landed and ready to leave the jet), when the jet jolted again. But this time, the red lights flashed vigorously and a loud beeping was heard. I cursed inwardly as my stomach dropped, my fingers clenching the buckles wrapped tightly around me. There was another jolt and we were thrown sideways, a gaping hole opening up on the side of the quinjet. The pressure was immense, pulling at everyone inside the jet. My hair was flying around my face, and I could see Thor moving to close it somehow, but he was too late.

Pietro was closest to the gaping hole, not even six feet away from it. His buckles were not tight enough, and they snapped apart. He screamed out, grabbing onto the chair as he was pulled towards the hole. I gasped and reached out with my hand, unable to grab his own. I could hear distinct yelling from Rhodes and Barton, and louder yells coming from Rogers and Stark.

But all I could see was Pietro.

His eyes filled with the same, soul-crushing fear I saw when I saved three weeks prior.

His screams filling my ears and sending my Omega into a frenzy.

He was close to slipping, and I knew what I had to do. I unbuckled my seatbelts, ears full of rushing wind and the sound of my heartbeat, and held onto the armrests as I stood up, my feet anchoring my body to the ground. I slowly took the couple of steps towards him, his eyes wide from surprise and fright, to where Pietro’s fists were clenching. I gripped onto his left wrist and pulled it off of the rest. He screamed, but I didn’t focus on it, grabbing his other wrist and pulling it off the rest, as well. Gripping tightly onto his wrists, I pulled his floating body towards my own, moving his wrists to wrap his arms around my neck. He whimpered, but tightened his arms around my neck nonetheless, and I wrapped an arm around his waist, holding him against me. 

I could feel his heart pounding against my own, and moved backwards, trying to get as far away from the hole as I could. It was then that I noticed Thor and Loki were moving quickly in an effort to close the hole. From my limited vantage point, I could see flashes of purple light before red overtook it, and I could hear the rumbling of thunder and the explosions of machines.

It was unfortunate that the quinjet took another hit and I stumbled, losing my footing and falling onto my back. 

It was unfortunate that the aircraft turned onto its side so that I was sliding towards the halfway patched hole.

And it was _extremely_ unfortunate that Loki could only grab Pietro while Thor manipulated the lightning to take out the last copter. 

_“Next time, we’re taking my fucking van!”_ I screamed as I slipped through the hole, falling to the ground like a heavy-ass meteor. 

I pulled forth my magic, created blue spheres of it in my hands, and threw them at the vehicles on the ground, one carrying military-grade missiles. I hit all of them, creating loud and dramatic explosions, and turned onto my back. With one last throw of my magic, I fixed the side of the aircraft before I teleported myself out of the sky, the ripple of my magic pushing the airship farther along with the sound of a sonic boom. 

The next thing I know, I’m landing on the floor of the mercenary bar with a scream, breaking the old, creaky wood and concrete. Dust flew around me and I wheezed a cough, staring up at the ceiling. I could hear the thieves and fellow mercenaries in the bar scutter around, yelling about something I couldn’t hear, until a familiar voice broke through it all.

“Alright, alright, break it up!” Wade called out. “Which one of you cut open cocaine and broke a chair? This is an expensive establishment, not a barn and--what the fuck!” I coughed out another wheeze and looked over, the dust finally settling and Wade’s scarred face staring down at me with a surprised and horrified expression. “Circe. Oh, my God! What the fuck happened?”

“Wade? Get Weasel. I need a very stiff drink.”


	9. "Hello, Baby. Did You Miss Mama?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Look, Circe, you know my views on soulmates, and after everything they’ve done, do you think they deserve you? ‘Cause I don’t.”
> 
> "But. You only get one soulmate -- well, in your case, seven, but irrelevant -- what I’m saying is: you only get one soulmate, make your time together count. If you want to be with them, then be with them before it’s too late.”
> 
> "I do not answer to any of you, even Fury, and if you try to make me follow your orders, I will fight back and make you regret ever wanting me on your little team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "And in the end, w  
> We were all just humans.  
> Drunk on the idea that love,   
> Only love,   
> Could heal our brokenness."
> 
> \-- F. Scott Fitzgerald

**1\. First off, I love how I said "oh, I'll update next week" and didn't until twenty-two days passed from the original date. In my defense...I'm depressed.**

**2\. But anyways, I noticed that I didn't really say what happed with the building in the last chapter, so I'm going to write it out up here.**

  * **Loki and Thor started a fire to get rid of Blobby, right?**
  * **Circe twisted her hands and snapped the necks of every agent in there; killed the others w/Kaos' help.**
  * **They took Kaos alive for questioning.**
  * **Bob (the VENUS FLY TRAP) had its _main_ head cut off by Loki to save Circe. **
  * **After they left, the fire consumed the building, and everything was destroyed.**
  * **_NOTHING_ will come from that building later in the story.**



**3\. Next couple of chapters are kind of boring; this one is like 10 pages, next is 19, following is at six right now, so we'll see how crazy I get.**

**4\. Enjoy!**

**5\. Oh! And I'm adding pictures! I thought that was exciting.**

**Chapter Nine:**

“So, you wanna tell us what happened?” Weasel asked after I downed two bottles of Malt Scotch Whiskey -- which was some of the better whiskey we carried and would be taken out of my paycheck. The other thieves and heathens went back to whatever they were doing before I fell through the ceiling, but Wade and Weasel had remained at the counter, staring me down as I chugged the smooth drinks that burned my throat to high-heaven. 

“Depends,” I muttered, setting the empty bottle back on the bar counter and letting my eyes run over the remaining amount of unopened alcohol. It was unfortunate that I couldn’t get wasted like a human -- demi-god and super soldier bullshit and all.  _ And, how does that even make sense? Like, did the serum even  _ **_do_ ** _ anything? I was already a demi-god, what more could it have given me that I didn’t already have? _ Outwardly, I scoffed in bitter amusement. _ Certainly not an extra five inches in height, that’s for goddamn sure. Like what the fuck? I’m stuck with both the looks and the height of a fucking teenager!  _

“Circe!” I flinched back with shock and raised my hands in a defensive position, glaring at the two men who were sitting/standing before me. Weasel had his eyebrow raised and his fists on his hips with the stereotypical disappointed father face. “You have been gone for a week after you went on some  _ mission  _ from that SHIELD guy, and now, you’re back and you’ve broken  _ two  _ of my chairs  _ and  _ the floorboards without so much as a ‘hello.’ We were worried something happened to you!” I felt the strong urge to cower to my favorite boss, but I pushed it away and settled on looking down at the floor with a pout. “I have been calling Cerberus every day to make sure you were okay, but he refuses to answer any of my questions, and it’s pissing me off. You know I  _ hate  _ it when friends keep secrets from me when I am great at keeping them!” He paused to take a breath, raising a finger and about to begin a whole new rant. Wade cut him off.

“Why don’t we take this to the backroom?” Wade asked in a surprisingly gentle and calm voice. Weasel immediately clenched his jaw tightly shut and turned on his heel, walking into the backroom without another word. I sighed in relief and shared a look with Wade before I followed. “Hey, Bob! You’re on bar duty, numbnuts!” Bob, an older gentleman with a long grey and white beard, let out a boisterous laugh and acknowledged Wade’s words before lumbering behind the bar and shouting at his friends. 

Weasel and Wade sat across from me at the main table in the back, both staring at me as I pouted and crossed my arms. It was silent for a few moments, and I broke, not wanting the feeling of them staring into my soul any longer. I let out a loud, huffing sigh.

“That mission Fury gave me was a setup.” Wade silently bristled, his eyes turning gold. Weasel stayed stiff with his clenched jaw, but Betas were naturally calm in situations like this, so he could remain nonchalant. “Apparently, they didn’t want to know about the Senator like he said. I don’t know if they already knew about his corrupt dealings and are blackmailing him or going to bring him down, or if the mission was just another incentive to go to the party if I decided I didn’t want to go after all. Either way, I went and after I found out some things about the Senator and became friends with his daughter and her friends, the Avengers appeared. They took me into a separate room and asked me questions about O.P. and the products I have there.

“I thought it was stupid, at first, but then they asked if I wanted to be an Avenger.” Wade snorted out a laugh and Weasel couldn’t hide the amused smirk that appeared on his face. I nodded, rolling my eyes as I remembered the ordeal. “I said ‘no,’ and they decided they didn’t like that. So they tried to sedate me with tranqs and, when that didn’t work, their demi-god buddy, Loki, put my body to sleep.” Wade swore and Weasel didn’t look relatively pleased, his eyes flashing the distinct Beta Blue. “But I am a demi-god, too, and it didn’t put me  _ entirely  _ to sleep. My mind was still awake; I could still hear them. Apparently, I am their soulmate.” Wade choked on his saliva and Weasel shot up in his seat, eyes wide and giddy with the dramatics.

“ _ No _ ,” Weasel breathed, scandalized.

“Yep.”

“Oh, my  _ God _ .” He put his elbows on the table and leaned forward, resting his chin on his palms with wide, riveted eyes. “Tell us  _ everything _ .” Wade did not share Weasel’s excitement; he had always been hesitant about finding his soulmate, but from the time we spent together while he rambled about Peter, I had a feeling he would do just fine.

And so, I spent the next ten minutes regaling everything that happened that night, over the week, and during the mission. Wade and Weasel were great audience members -- gasping in surprise, horror, or amusement at the best times, and sharing conspiratorial, raised-eyebrow looks at other points in my story -- but it took longer to tell them everything when they were so dramatically involved. 

“But now, I don’t know what to do.” I put my arms on the table and laid my head down in them, closing my eyes and sighing. “Stark’s  _ really  _ my soulmate! Does that mean they were telling the truth? I mean, it would make sense given all of the  _ looks  _ they give me.” I moved my head up, resting my chin on my forearms instead, pouting up at the contemplative men. “What should I do, guys?” Wade shrugged.

“Fuck ‘em.” I grimaced at his words, confused. Weasel hit him in the back of the head. “Ow! Jesus, Weazy.” Wade huffed and turned to me, sporting the serious look once again. “Look, Circe, you know my views on  _ soulmates _ -,” he gagged dramatically, “-and after everything they’ve done, do you think they deserve you? ‘Cause  _ I  _ don’t.” He leaned back, putting his shoes up on the desk and leaning back in his chair, relaxing. “But.” He went quiet, an uncomfortable look on his face. “You only get one soulmate -- well, in your case, seven, but irrelevant -- what I’m saying is: you only get one soulmate, make your time together count. If you  _ want  _ to be with them, then  _ be  _ with them before it’s too late.” It was silent and I sat up, licking my lips as I thought about his words. Weasel gave Wade a small smile, turning back to me and reaching forward, grabbing my hand. 

“Circe, ever since you grew comfortable with us, whenever soulmates were brought up, you would talk about how much you wanted yours. Has that  _ forty-plus year dream _ really changed within the past  _ month _ ?” His voice resonated under my ribs, pulling forth emotions I had buried a long time ago: longing, sorrow, jealousy. I pursed my lips, trying to force them into a neutral line and not the sad frown they wanted to twitch into. Weasel squeezed my hand and I looked up at him, his calm Beta Blue eyes staring back at me. “I know you’re scared, and it’s alright that you are. But they’re your  _ soulmates _ . While you might not have had the best meeting, they still came after you in an effort to connect with you.” Wade raised a hand, but Weasel didn’t even glance at him. “Yes, Wade, they could have done it in a  _ better  _ way, like asking her out on a date, but they are seven  _ Alphas _ . Are you trying to tell me that your other side  _ wouldn’t  _ haul your mate over your shoulder like a caveman and hide them away from the world until they were mated and marked?” Wade averted his eyes, thinking about it. Suddenly, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped open, his tongue running against the bottom of his top teeth.

“Continue,” Wade muttered, waving his hand to me. Weasel and I both snorted, sharing an amused look before Weasel continued where he left off.

“Seeing as one of them can turn into a giant green man, two of them are demi-gods, two have been injected with an overzealous amount of hormones and serums, one is a cocky ‘all-girls-love-me’ asshole, and one that has had no family other than his sister for a long time, and all of them knew  _ immediately  _ that you were their soulmate while you obviously  _ didn’t _ ,” Weasel paused, taking in a deep breath, “I’m surprised one of them didn’t snap when you dropped them off in the first place. Or throw you over their shoulder in China and keep you from saving the kid just so they knew you were safe and unharmed.” Wade snorted and I nodded in sheepish agreement. 

_ I was lucky they didn’t try anything like that in China; I would have freaked out and probably killed them. Or I would have jumped their bones in the hallway. Which would have been terrible considering they were in danger and Peter was there _ . The thought made me shudder.  _ Like having a kid walk in on his parents having sex. Gross.  _ I thought back to Wade’s words.  _ He is right, in a way. These are the only soulmates I would ever get, and ones I’ve always wanted. _ I licked my lips, looking up at them.

“When they said they were my soulmates,” I trailed off, cracking my neck as I shifted uneasily in my seat, “it...made me apprehensive. I have been alive for so long, I just assumed my soulmate was either in their late sixties or dead. I mean, yeah, I hoped that me being a demi-god counted for  _ something _ , at least having a soulmate in their fifties, but  _ seven  _ soulmates with the youngest barely being twenty-five? I’m a  _ cradle-robber  _ for Jesus’ sake.” I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. “I have been alone for so long, and I’ve never had an actual  _ boyfriend  _ before. I’ve never done those...sappy, romantic movie dates or bought cheesy, overpriced gifts. What if I’m no good at being a girlfriend?” Wade let out a boisterous laugh, Weasel hitting him in the shoulder with a disapproving look. I felt my cheeks burn a humiliated red and glared at the male. Wade stopped laughing to give a hurt face to Weasel before his eyes landed on me and he lost his amused grin. Sighing loudly, he gave me a burdened look.

“Circe, you are  _ literally  _ girlfriend material.”  _ What? _ “Okay, biologically, Omegas are very motherly and tend to cater to everyone’s needs, and would most  _ definitely  _ fall into house-wife roles.” My face screwed up into a disgusted scowl. I hated that genetic Omega traits were blown out of proportion by society. “But  _ outside  _ of biologically, you never miss our birthdays, you always go to concerts with us (even if you don’t like the band), you listen to us when we have bad days, and you never dig too deep when you realize we don’t want to talk about it. You’re smart as hell,  _ rich  _ as hell, and you are literally the hottest  _ female  _ Omega I have ever seen. I have yet to see a male Omega, but when I do, I am sure they will be  _ slightly  _ hotter.” I laughed, noticing the stinging of tears filling my eyes. “There is  _ no doubt _ in my fucking mind that you would literally be the  _ best  _ fucking girlfriend-soulmate-thing an Alpha could ever hope to have.” My face heated with a blush, and I felt a grin tug at my lips.

“Yeah, what he said.” 

~+~+~+~

“Hello, baby. Did you miss mama?” 

_ “Very much so, Boss,” _ Cerberus’ smooth voice replied. It may have been my excitement at finally being able to speak freely to my own creation without fear of eavesdroppers, that I felt Cerberus carried a slightly happy and relieved tone.  _ “Might I offer sending a car to your current location?” _ I laughed, but shook my head, the cab driver I caught two blocks away from the bar speeding down the streets. 

“No need, darling. I am already in a cab.” The cabbie glanced back with a yellow-toothed smile, and turned back to the front so that he could cut off a slower vehicle driven by an old lady. I looked down at my nails, picking out some of the dirt underneath the nails. “But, we do have some things that need to be done before I end the call.” Cerberus was quiet.

_ “Of course, Boss. What can I assist you with today?” _

“Firstly,” I looked out the window and crossed my legs, “send a text to Peter and let him know I’m safe, and a seperate one to Chris, letting him know I am free and to inform my lawyers and board members. I will not be needing their services for a while.” I waited for his crisp  _ “done” _ before I continued. “Secondly, send a message to Ms. Potts for me.” 

_ “Yes, Boss. What would you like to say in this message?” _

“Just to call me back when she has a free moment.” He sent the message, the cabbie glancing back at me curiously. I raised an eyebrow at him and he turned away. “And thirdly, I would like you to tell me all of what I have missed that you couldn’t tell me while I was away.” 

_ “Yes, Boss. Regarding the information you wanted me to look up before you were kidnapped, the Senators coercing with Senator Noir have received your note anonymously and are scrambling to plan their next couple of moves. Of course, they are looking into the sender, but they will not find us.”  _ I smirked, nodding.  _ “Senator Noir has been informed, and while he looks into it, he is also spreading rumors about O.P. and yourself. He has made the connection between his daughter’s sudden change of heart and you hanging around her for a while during the party.”  _ My eyebrow twitched.  _ Rumors?  _ I almost glared at the cabbie, his eyes wandering my form through the rearview mirror.  _ “Of course, Ms. Noir and her friends are safe in a new apartment completely paid for by Omega Pharmaceuticals. You will have Mrs. Brown, Mr. Hamilton, and Mrs. Abernathy to thank for that. And I have made sure that they are untraceable, Boss, and have everything they require for the next couple of months.” _ I smirked.

“Thank you, Cerberus. Please send my utmost thanks to Mr. Hamilton, Mrs. Brown and Mrs. Abernathy. What rumors is Senator Noir spreading?” 

_ “He is implying that the CEO of O.P. is a harlot that is taking advantage of his daughter. He is making false claims that you are collecting a harem of Alphas to satisfy your needs, and that you are corrupting the young Omegas with your products. He is in the midst of paying newspapers to slander your products, and say they are harming Omegas’ biological instincts.”  _ I clenched my jaw in annoyance, a growl stuck in my throat.  _ “Do not worry, Boss. Our legal and publicist team are already on it, and have begun gathering a case against him.”  _ I nodded.

“And what about our previous outline?” I still wanted the Senator to be quietly taken out, but with this in the works, I would be the first suspect. Of course, there was an easy way around this: concrete alibi, a large amount of cash hidden in my house, and the right mercenary would easily get the job done. 

_ “They can be put into motion. Would you like Senator Noir to go down within the next couple of weeks?”  _ A maniacal grin came over my face, and it made the ogling cabbie pale.

“Yes, please.”

_ “Would you like the same treatment for the others, Boss?” _ I pouted my lips in thought.

“Nah. Let’s just scare them a bit.” 

_ “Yes, ma’am.” _ Once again, it sounded like he was eerily amused at my words.  _ “You have received multiple messages from Peter and the Avengers, ma’am. Along with many incoming calls and video chats.” _ I hummed, the driver pulled into the gated community I lived at. His eyes raked the mansions with shock. _"_ _ Chris has also sent a message stating he is glad you are alright, and will let the staff know of your return.” _

He pulled to a stop in front of my house, eyeing the eight-foot stone white walls surrounding my property and an iron gate with shock. Before I bought my mansion seven years prior, the land had an entirely different mansion sitting on the land. It was a chic and modern mansion with the stereotypical black-and-white checkered tiles and high-end countertops, and all of the yards along the street were bare grass, spare a few baby trees. It was fit for those that wanted to live in the modern world. It was unfortunate for the community that I didn’t want that. 

When I bought the house, I sent out a letter to every neighbor asking if they wanted any part of the countertops and tiles, due to the fact that I would be bulldozing the house and using the recycled wood to build my own house. Many of them came to voice their objections  _ (throwing in the fact that they had lived in the neighborhood for over ten years, and there was an HMO with rules that I would be going against, and all this  _ **_complaining,_ ** _ good  _ **_Lord_ ** _ ) _ , but I used my magic to make them forget their anger, setting up an illusion of construction workers working on my house while I did it myself with my magic and inventor abilities. 

Now, my house was a cottagecore wet dream. 

It was a brick-made cottage mansion that was reminiscent of a castle, and most of it was covered in green moss. Along the outer layer of my land, I built the eight-feet-tall, white stone wall with an iron gate. There were three floors with ten bedrooms, five and a half bathrooms, one living room, one library, a giant dining room connected to an even larger kitchen, a basement I used as a training room with an underground bunker underneath it, and the large attic that covered the expanse of my house seamlessly -- as if it was a fourth floor -- that was fitted to be my workshop/lab. The backyard was an open space full of flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruit trees; and the garage was nonexistent, due to me thinking it was useless at the time as I only had two vehicles (the van and an inconspicuous, black sedan). 

But the outside fooled many people. They don’t take the insides into account.

“This is your stop,” the cabbie said politely, though his voice was hoarse. “It’s gonna be one-ninety eighty-seven.” The number was much higher than it was supposed to be, considering my house was only twenty minutes away from the bar. But I rolled my eyes and threw three hundred bucks at him. 

“Thanks for the ride.” I rolled my eyes at the man as I climbed out of the car. I walked up to the fence and opened the lid to the keypad, typing in the ten digit number and thumb print.

“Hey, miss.” I looked back at the cabbie as the gate opened slowly. He was looking at me with scrutinizing eyes. “Whatcha doin’ livin’ all by yourself in a big place like this?” I raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t allow me to answer. “Be careful, miss. This may be a gated community, but I ‘eard many thieves congregate a bit aways from here. You be careful, now!” I nodded and waved as he drove away, rolling my eyes when I turned away and walked through the gates, towards my dusty sedan and van  _ (which Cerberus had Chris drive back to the house) _ .

_ “Boss? The video calls are still coming in, and Mr. Stark is trying to trace your location.” _ I scoffed and rolled my eyes, the gates closing behind me.

“Answer a call. I don’t care whose.” I waved my hand and the clutch I had the day of the party appearing in my hands. I looked through it, rolling my eyes when I noticed it was obviously rifled through. I took out the keys and unlocked the door, voices immediately filling my ear. It was mostly the Avengers fighting over the phone, a couple of them growling.

_ “Lady Circe!”  _ Thor bellowed, making me drop my keys.

“Ah! Shit.” I stooped down and picked up the fallen keys, grumbling inwardly at his loudness. “No need to shout, big man.” The arguing stopped in the background.

_ “I apologize, Lady Circe,” _ Thor began, sounding like a wounded puppy. I closed my door and locked it, waving my hand and setting spells around it to further protect it.  _ “I did not mean to startle you. We were very worried about you when my brother and I failed to grab a hold of you in time.”  _ I expected to hear Loki protest in the background, but there was only silence. I wondered if the Avengers were blaming him for not grabbing me along with Pietro, or if all three of them were overcome with guilt at me falling through the giant hole. The thoughts annoyed me, considering I did not view it as a big deal.

**_But if Stark fell out without his suit,_** my Omega whispered, **_you’d be freaked out._** I inwardly cursed. Why is she always right when I don’t want her to be?

“A little fall from an aircraft isn’t going to be enough to kill me, Thor. I’ve fallen out of many of them over the past twenty years. Don’t worry about it.” I began walking through my foyer to the kitchen, my stomach rumbling with hunger. The maids had kept my house well-clean and stocked while I was away, and with Cerberus watching over the house through a multitude of cameras (of my own invention), I know they did not steal anything while they were doing their jobs. I didn’t expect them to, considering I paid them five percent more than their other clients, and gave them big Christmas and Birthday bonuses. I’ve even held a few parties at my house for the main cleaner, Mrs. Oscazio-Ordinola  _ (lovely lady; very considerate) _ . “Is Pietro alright?” 

_ “Y-Yes, I’m fine,” _ the young Maximoff said, sounding nervous and very much guilty.  _ “Thank you for grabbing me.” _ He sounded like a wounded puppy, and I wanted to hug him. 

“Anytime, Pietro, anytime.” I opened my fridge, looking at the piles of vegetables that were fresh and beautiful. “You know, you’d think a billion dollar aircraft built by one of the most influential, war-loving countries, they would have fucking  _ parachutes _ . What  _ losers _ .” 

_ “So, you’re  _ **_not_ ** _ hurt?”  _ Dr. Banner asked, his voice slightly distant over the phone. 

“No, I am not hurt.” I could feel their brains growing questions I didn’t want to answer. 

_ “Where are you? We’re going to come get you,” _ Stark said firmly, the sound of buttons being pushed hitting my ears. I frowned.

“Nah.” It was silent. I gave an incredulous laugh, settling on grabbing a frozen pizza from the freezer for my dinner/breakfast. It was rather early in the morning -- almost six -- and I was whisked away on that mission. The only things I could feel at the moment were: hunger and exhaustion. “Did you really think once I escaped the clutches of the  _ Avengers  _ that I would come back without a ‘sorry for kidnapping you in the first place,’ and ‘thank you for saving our asses, again’?  _ And  _ I’m hungry and exhausted.” I began setting up my oven, the beeping most likely carrying over the line. There was a low murmur of voices in the background, and I could hear Stark beginning to get upset.

_ “But you’re my soulmate!” _ He protested incredulously. I could hear him typing quickly, most likely trying to pinpoint my location, and grinned in amusement. They were  _ at least _ a couple hours away from New York, and Cerberus was well equipped at hiding my location.  _ “Why would you  _ **_not_ ** _ want to stay with me at the Tower? I can get you anything you want, and remodel the rooms however you like. Hell, we can move home base to one of my other houses. Like Malibu or something?” _ I let out a loud boisterous laugh, shaking my head.

“Oh,  _ honey _ .” The typing stopped, but I could still hear the argument in the background. “Firstly, my house is literally my dream home. If anything, I would whisk you away and make  _ you  _ live here with  _ me _ . Which would probably to your disliking, considering you like chic and modern furniture, and I very much do  _ not _ . Well, unless I made it. But that’s irrelevant. Secondly, I never said I  _ wasn’t  _ coming back to the tower.” Now, the arguing stopped and I laughed again. “Yes, Romanoff, you heard that correctly. Now, I could either come back right now if given the proper apologies for kidnapping me and thanking me for saving your asses,  _ or  _ I take the time to eat my late dinner/early breakfast, sleep, and then pack up some essentials and be on my way within two days.” The oven beeped, and I put the pizza on the rack. I was already salivating as I thought of it! “The ball is in your court, ladies and gentlemen. Take your time.”

A distant murmur began once again. I tried to strain my ears to hear what they were saying, but I was suddenly placed on ‘HOLD,’ soft jazz playing in my ear. I let out an amused snort, shaking my head. Obviously, they didn’t want me to hear whatever they were conversing about. I had a feeling my soulmates were ready to give in, but Romanoff would make a big deal out of it. While she didn’t like me, part of me thought the reason she argued with them so much was because she was an Alpha-Female and just loved to argue and fight with other Alphas.  _ (Which was  _ **_also_ ** _ a biological trait for Alphas.) _ I didn’t mind being put on hold while they spoke. If anything, it gave me a few moments to eat some grapes and marvel at my dream house.

While my house was technically cottage-y, it was very modern with technology. I made most of the electrical appliances in my house -- the blender, the oven, microwave, the television, cameras, etc. -- due to my magic interfering with the wiring of regular technology.  _ Once I move into Stark’s Tower, I would have to revamp all of his technology. _ The thought made me grimace.  _ That will take me a good couple of weeks that I don’t want to give up. _ I sighed, rolling my eyes and leaning against the counter. 

Along with my technology, it also carried the latest alarm system Cerberus and I created. I had sensors and cameras within my “stone” gate that would be able to show me who was near it at all times. If people jumped over my wall, they would be met with LED flood lights Cerberus turned on. Either they stumbled away with burnt eyes at that point _ (which a few have done) _ , or they continued on. In the flower beds growing around my house, there were tranquilizer shooters hidden amongst their leaves. When robbers came too close, Cerberus manned them, sending multiple tranquilizers in their direction. That was the furthest anyone ever got over the five years, but I had booby traps all around the windows and doors in case they got closer. 

If they miraculously made it inside of my house, they would not survive.

But if I was overrun with HYDRA or some equally terribly annoying group, my bunker existed for a reason. Lockdown was always an option, and all of the vents in my house held enough chloroform gas to knock out an entire regime -- or a hulk, a few supersoldiers, and maybe a few demi-gods -- for a good couple days. Just long enough for me to get rid of them.

The elevator-like ‘HOLD’ music stopped and all I could hear was a distant buzzing. I could only imagine what expressions they were making.  _ Definitely annoyance from Romanoff. And probably Wilson and Barton. _ I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. Someone cleared their throat over the line, and I had the sudden flash of dread that they would actually apologize.  _ What if I’m not ready to live with them? What if this is a mistake? _ I pushed the dread away, trying to focus on whatever they -- probably Rogers or Stark -- was going to say.

_ “Circe,” _ Rogers began, his voice strong and sure,  _ “the plan to... _ **_kidnap_ ** _ you is all on me. I assumed when we asked you to join the Avengers, you would, so when you didn’t, I decided kidnapping would be the next best option. At the time, I thought it was better than letting you walk away, but I can see, now, that it only made the situation worse. And for that, I  _ **_am_ ** _ sorry. Please do not blame the others, especially when most of them told me explicitly that it was a bad idea, as they were following my orders.” _ I have to admit, I was a little touched. You could really hear the sincerity in his voice, and it brought forth a bit of guilt. 

While they were still not telling me they were my mates, I found out and was hiding it, myself. Of course, they were in the wrong for kidnapping me, but I was just as guilty as they were in the soulmate department. 

_ “And thank you,” _ he continued, breaking me out of my thoughts,  _ “for saving us, again.” _ He sounded a little amused, and I felt a smile tug at my lips.  _ “I can see why Fury thought you would be our best bet at getting out of China safely.”  _ I felt my chest fill with smug pride at his admittance, and I wondered if I was growing a bit too arrogant. 

“And I thought  _ Barnes  _ was the supposed smooth talker. Surprise, surprise.” The timer for the pizza went off and my stomach rumbled loudly, aching for the pizza in the oven. Turning it off, I pulled down the lid and gazed at the overly greasy pizza. There were a few chuckles on the other line, but they were still awaiting my response. I sighed. “Funny how you say it was all you, Rogers, when I clearly remember Stark hitting me in the boob with a tranq, first.” Their line was silent, as if they had forgotten that fact or didn’t know how to reply. “Hmm. Well, the whole kidnapping thing  _ was  _ a bummer, but I suppose I could’ve handled it a bit better. Like teleport away or break a window and jump out. Been there, done that. And I  _ could  _ have been a bit nicer to Romanoff, though I still think you’re a bitch!” She growled loudly on the other line, and I laughed. “But since you were very...convincing, you are all forgiven for the kidnapping. And you’re welcome for saving your asses. ‘Twas a pleasure.” I waved my hand and the pizza came out of the oven, settling on the counter to cool off as the oven lid closed. “I gotta do some stuff before I show up at the Tower. I’ll be there by the end of the day.” I paused, hearing relieved sighs on the other end.

_ “Thank you, Circe,” _ Stark replied, sounding overly relieved and, dareIsay,  _ giddy _ . I hummed again, listening to him begin rambling.  _ “We’re a couple hours away from New York. I’ll go ahead and call Pep, so we can get movers to your place. The renovation may take a couple days, but we’ll get it sorted out.”  _ I was beginning to feel a bit awkward as the others started butting in and adding in how excited they were -- and by others, I mean Rhodes, Thor, Peter, Pietro, and a little bit from Barton and Wilson.  _ They were growing a bit too comfortable.  _

“Yes, well,” I cut in, the group silencing other than Romanoff’s annoyed huff, “I do hope, after today’s events, you have all realized something  _ very  _ important.” I could almost feel how tense the group had become, and it made me grin. “Should any of you try to -- what’s the word? Ah, yes,  _ kidnap  _ me or try to  _ lock me up  _ again -- either for  _ ‘my own protection’ _ or your own-,” my Omega came to the front and I snarled harshly over the line,  **“you will not like what I do to you in return. Soulmate or not. And make no mistake, I am not an Avenger, and will do my best to never be one. I do not answer to any of you, even Fury, and if you try to make me follow your orders, I will fight back and make you regret ever wanting me on your little** **_team_ ** **.”** The other line was silent, though Romanoff was releasing a low, annoyed growl. My Omega went away and I grew a sickly sweet grin, forcing that sweetness into my voice. “I do hope I made myself  _ explicitly  _ clear, ladies and gentlemen. Fly safe, I suppose. Bye!” 

Cerberus cut the call.  _ “Boss, I must say, you did marvelous.” _ I snorted and shook my head, slicing the pizza and depositing it on my plates.  _ “Though I still have my reservations about you living with the heathens. You can forgive them, but I find I cannot follow suit.”  _ I hummed, shrugging and looking at the camera in the corner.

“So don’t. Make them earn it, baby.” I grinned evilly at the cameras.

_ “Yes, Ma’am.” _


	10. "Do You Want to be With Your Soulmate?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Answer me this, Circe: do you want to be with your soulmate?"
> 
> "Then that is all you need to know to decide if this is the best course or not."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd kill a thousand men,  
> Before I let one  
> Make me his slave.
> 
> \-- Cara Mason, Legend of the Seeker

**Thank you, everyone, for your comments! They have helped me a lot, and I really appreciate the support!**

**There are some worries about Circe forgiving the Avengers so early on, but I promise, I am keeping to what I wrote as the story summary -- referencing to the end.**

**This chapter and the next are fillers, but I'm posting them one after the other, so hopefully they will take you a minimum of thirty minutes, and a maximum of six hours (if you have work and other important events happening, like finishing a TV show -- which I support).**

**As for the pictures of Circe's home (as I got a little excited writing about it), I will be posting them at the end of their chapter, so that you may have a visual example of what her home relatively looks like.**

**Thank you, again! Lots of love!**

The next hour was spent eating my pizza and moving to my office to comb through projects with Cerberus in full detail. I would still be working on O.P. products along with my own inventions while at the Tower, along with remaining as CEO and a mercenary. I didn’t want my jobs to be compromised by simply moving, but we were making plans in case one of them had to be let go. I would, after all, have to make  _ some  _ time for my soulmate. It was seven thirty when Ms. Potts returned my call using a different number.  _ Must be her office phone,  _ I thought.

“Ah, Ms. Potts,” I answered, using the landline on my desk. It was vintage, one of the rotary phones made completely out of steel and wires. It was broken and complete crap when I found it at an estate sale, but when I fixed it up, it was priceless. “You must have received my message early this morning. I hope I didn’t wake you.” 

_ “Hello, Ms. Circe,” _ Ms. Potts replied smoothly, sounding much more professional than me.  _ “No, you did not wake me. I apologize for taking so long to get back to you. I assumed this conversation would be better suited for my office.” _ I could hear the sound of typing on her line.

“No apologies necessary, Ms. Potts. In fact, I believe it is  _ you  _ who deserves an express apology from myself.” Her typing stopped. “It has come to my attention that while I was  _ held  _ by the Avengers in the Tower, Cerberus was in contact with you. As Mr. Stark has had multiple A.I.s over the years, I hope you can understand that Cerberus was worried for my safety and wellbeing, knowing I was  _ incapacitated _ . But that does not excuse his  _ terribly  _ rude behavior at threatening your livelihood and career. I believe he thought threatening you the way he did would spur you into telling Mr. Stark to release me, but of course, you are tougher than he realized.” And he had.  _ Threatened  _ her, that is. “And so, as he cannot be truly sorry, I would like to offer my own sincere apology on his behalf for his behavior. His protocols have been updated in an effort to keep threats like that to a  _ very  _ low minimum. Unless, of course, the kidnapper is HYDRA or some equally annoying group.” I was pleased with my apology, but I wasn’t sure if she was, considering how she suddenly went silent. 

_ “That is in the past, Ms. Circe,” _ Ms. Potts replied calmly, though a bit relaxed. I smiled, pleased at her response.  _ “Though I believe that is not all you wanted to speak to me about.” _ There was a hint of amusement in her voice, as if she knew what I wanted in the first place. 

“Yes, there is another thing I would like to speak to you about -- if you have the time, of course.” Ms. Potts let out a relaxed laugh, her typing starting up for a singular moment before pausing once again. 

_ “I am all ears, Ms. Circe.”  _ My smile widened. She was becoming more relaxed with me, which would make this all the more easier. 

“Great!” I leaned back in my chair and put my feet up on my desk, holding the phone to my ear with my shoulder. “Well, first things first, if you would like, you can call me Circe. Secondly, it has come to my attention that Mr. Stark just so happens to be my soulmate, and I am planning on moving into the Tower by the end of the day.” Ms. Potts hummed on the other line, but didn’t reply. “But there are some things I would like to talk to you about living in the Tower.” 

_ “Of course!”  _ There was a rustle. _ “Is it related to certain rooms you would be staying in? If you can give me the details, I can get rooms remodeled to fit your needs, though it may take a few days. I am sure Tony would not mind you rooming with him. Or setting up a spot for yourself in his workshop.” _ I bit my lip, unsure. I wasn’t sure if he would really want me taking over his sacred spaces, especially if we get into fights. She paused in her words.  _ “Unless you wanted to ask me about something different?” _ I licked my lips, my eyes roaming around my office.

“Well,” I trailed off, shifting uneasily in my seat. It was hard for me to open up like this to someone I barely knew. “I would appreciate it if what I’m about to say doesn’t reach the ears of  _ any  _ of the Avengers.” Ms. Potts didn’t miss a beat.

_ “Of course, Circe.” _ She was still relaxed, and it calmed me.  _ “I assure you, Tony has made sure this phone was free of bugs,  _ **_especially_ ** _ his own after I became CEO.”  _ I could hear a smile appear on her face as her tone changed to be lighter. _ “And I am one of the  _ **_best_ ** _ at keeping secrets. That’s one of the reasons why I was his PA for so long.” _ I snorted, a smile growing on my lips and my uneasy feeling melted away.

“Oh,  _ really _ ?” I raised an eyebrow, keeping my tone innocent yet amused. “I thought it was because you were dating him at the time?” Ms. Potts was silent for a few moments until she started chuckling, my own chuckles following.

_ “Yeah, that could be it, too. Though I like to think it was because of my unwavering ability to pull him from his work.”  _ She huffed a sigh, remembering it.  _ “Trust me on this, Circe, Tony and Bruce are  _ **_notorious_ ** _ at not eating or sleeping for days when working on something important. Drove me  _ **_nuts_ ** _!”  _ I snorted, nodding my head.  _ “Even Doctor Jane Foster. She lives at the Tower, as well.”  _ I cocked my head.  _ I forgot about her. She was Thor’s girlfriend. _ A bout of jealousy filled me, and I shuddered in disgust at myself.  _ I have no right to be jealous.  _

“I’ve heard of Dr. Foster. She’s the astrophysicist that won a Nobel Prize a couple years ago.” Pepper hummed, and I thought back to when I attended. She was a wonderful woman, kind of ADHD like myself, but nice nonetheless. Her assistant, Darcy, was a sweet Omega who was in “love” with my products. “Oh,  _ shit _ !” Barton’s words to the team popped into my mind.  _ Was that Darcy the same Darcy I knew? She had to be! That would most likely be why Dr. Foster was still there. _ But I couldn’t exactly ask, seeing as I was “asleep” at the time the conversation happened. Thinking quickly, I supplied, “I forgot about  _ Darcy _ , her assistant! She’s a sweet girl. Spoke to me for at least thirty minutes about my products, and I slipped a few secrets to her because she was just so... _ sneaky _ .” Pepper laughed.

_ “Yes, she’s living at the Tower, too.” _ Pepper began a spiel about how Darcy stayed because when Doctor Foster came to see Thor after the Ultron incident, she found her soulmate.  _ “Rhodey and Doctor Foster were both surprised, to say the least, but they’ve been going strong. Tony jokes that she’s the female version of himself, and Rhodey  _ **_hates_ ** _ it.” _ I chuckled.

“He didn’t tell me he had a  _ soulmate _ , that ass! I even offered to avenge his legs!” Pepper laughed, continuing to say how after the two moved in, Romanoff and Barton came back from a mission and the smart-mouthed Omega turned out to be their soulmate. 

_ “Nat and Clint took off two weeks as the three of them wanted to complete their bond. Fury was annoyed that he couldn’t get into contact with them, but what can you do?” _ I hummed, nodding in agreement. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to complete the bond with Stark -- or any of the others -- but I understood the need they must have felt after searching for their significant other for so long. _ “Rhodey had to take over Darcy’s position as Scientist Wrangler, but apparently, she’s worse than Tony when he’s on a working binge. He said he was in there for ten minutes, trying to get her attention but she kept brushing him off. I laughed so hard! Now, he knows how it feels when Tony and Bruce work  _ **_together_ ** _.” _ I threw my head back with laughter.

Cerberus and Rocky, my secretary  _ (not personal assistant) _ , were usually the ones getting me out of my work binges when I was almost to a breakthrough. When I was creating cufflinks for a fashion brand, I was so into it that I hadn’t slept more than three hours in ten days, I had only consumed snacks and soda during those ten days, and I was in  _ desperate  _ need of a shower. They both tried to get me out of the workshop, but didn’t succeed until the entire room went black and a loud alarm was released  _ (that  _ **_still_ ** _ gives me nightmares) _ . Before them, when I had nothing to my name, I worked myself into fainting out of nowhere and ending up in coma-like sleep. I should have employed a PA of my own years ago. 

“I’ve been there. Cerberus and Rocky, my secretary, have gone through  _ many a great length _ to get me the  _ fuck  _ out of the workshop!” Ms. Potts and I laughed. “Chris, my event bodyguard, is around a lot more, recently, due to Rocky being on vacation. Poor guy has been working with me for five years, right after he graduated college, and not once has he gone to Hawaii or London -- anywhere fun, really. Told him to take a month off and get traveling.” Ms. Potts chuckled, admitting it was the same for her when she had first started working for Stark.

We spent the next thirty minutes sharing stories about the times when Stark or Dr. Banner fell asleep at their workstations, or broke something and caused minor explosions that made all of the Avengers go to their location with full gear. Doctor Foster had yet to do anything like that, but I had a feeling it was coming -- Darcy told me once that Doctor Foster was clumsy when she wanted to be.

_ “I think everytime there is an explosion from one of the two, the team assumes one of them opened a portal to another realm and got sucked in. Or let aliens out!” _ I howled with laughter, shaking my head. I shared my own workshop horror stories, and Ms. Potts  _ (Pepper; she told me to call her that) _ couldn’t stop laughing. 

“Between Stark, Dr. Banner, Dr. Foster and myself, if anyone was more likely to  _ accidentally  _ open a portal into an alien realm, it would be me. Sometimes, I am so smart that I amaze  _ myself _ , but other times, I walk into the kitchen wanting to cook eggs for myself when my ADHD acts up and I suddenly have a paper crown on my head and fifty crows in my workshop because I had the  _ grandest  _ idea of training them. Cerberus showed me a video he took, and for the life of me, I do  _ not  _ remember standing on top of my desk and shouting  _ ‘I am the Queen of Birdland! Bow down to me!’ _ to those crows that looked at me as if I was a fucking idiot.” Pepper gave an unladylike snort that went into loud, full-blown, belly-cramping laughter. I followed suit, wiping the tears that started to gather in the corners of my eyes. “That poor Tower is going to have  _ four  _ science-y people, excluding Peter and Darcy -- both who I shouldn’t exclude, actually, because Peter is a mad scientist in the making and Darcy was a Political Science Major. They could both do some  _ damage _ ! But for future reference, when I blow something up, I am  _ so  _ sorry.” 

_ “Oh, don’t worry about it,” _ Pepper replied once she had calmed down from her laughter, ending in maniacal giggles.  _ “Tony and Bruce literally do it five times a week -- three if we’re lucky. I think Peter’s been a good influence on both of them, too, to be honest.” _ She took a breath and it was quiet between us for a few moments.  _ “I have not laughed like that in  _ **_years_ ** _.”  _ I grinned smugly and leaned back in my chair once again, putting my feet back up and giving the camera in the corner a look. 

“Well, I  _ am  _ rather charming, Pep.” She snorted.

_ “Good lord, you sound like Tony when we were dating. ‘What can I say, Pep? The girls love my charm.’ Ugh,” _ she teased. I chuckled at her mimicking of Stark, her voice deepening and growing smoother.  _ “And since you’re his  _ **_new girl_ ** _ , watch out for a few of his exes. They’re real pieces of work. One of them broke into my old apartment after the news broke out that we were dating. Scared the new tenant half to death!” _ I nodded.  _ “ _ **_Oh_ ** _. I’m so sorry, I shouldn't have said it like that. I didn’t mean you should be worried they take him back or anything, ‘cause you’re his soulmate and he’s been looking for you for years, and he made us all sign agreements that if he found you, or we found ours, the relationship between us would be broken  _ **_immediately_ ** _ , and -- oh, my God, I  _ **_cannot_ ** _ believe I just said that! _ ” I laughed and shook my head. 

“What? That he made you sign an NDA about your relationship?” She was silent, and I took it as an affirmative. I turned my tone gentle. “It’s  _ okay _ , Pep. That’s a rumor -- or  _ fact _ , now, that I have known for a long time, and many CEOs and celebrities do that. If he did it for the wrong reason, I would be furious, but I know he did it with the right ones.” I shrugged. “I am not worried about the worst of his exes or the media because, to be frank, I don’t give a rats ass what they think. My house is rigged with some pretty great tricks, and they’ll have to get through the security in the Tower  _ and  _ the Avengers to hurt me physically. Which is  _ slightly  _ impossible.” Pepper let out a single chuckle, to which I assume she was smiling widely.

_ “Ah, yes. Tony told me about your other  _ **_job_ ** _.”  _ She sounded a bit nervous, and I chuckled.

“If it makes you feel better, I only go for the  _ really  _ bad ones.” She sighed.

_“It does, thank you.”_ I threw my head back in laughter. She giggled and I could hear the rustling of paper and the ringing of a phone. _Is that an AC/DC ringtone I hear?_ _“Oh, dear. Tony is trying to call me on my phone. Can I put you on hold for a bit, Circe?”_

“Of course!” The elevator waiting music started again, though this seemed relatively modern.  _ Maybe Disney movie instrumental soundtracks? _ I shrugged and looked at my own phone. I had a few messages from my lawyers and publicists asking questions about the email sent to me regarding the kidnapping. I sent a quick email back explaining that Stark was my soulmate, and that they had apologized  _ extensively _ . It was five minutes past eight.

_ “Sorry about that Circe.”  _ Pepper’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts.  _ “Tony was letting me know that you were moving in. I told him I already knew, and I think it surprised him. From what I heard, he’s  _ **_very_ ** _ excited.” _ I laughed, a blush growing on my cheeks. My Omega was still scratching at the surface, wanting to be near Stark, again. The fact I was planning on moving in went only so far in comforting her. There was another rustling of papers.  _ “Anyways, let’s get back to what we were talking about in the beginning: what is it that you wanted to tell me without Tony knowing?” _ I cracked my neck, shifting in my seat and taking a deep breath.

“I...don’t have the best track record with males,  _ or  _ Alphas,” I began slowly, my palms clammy with anxiety, “meaning, most of the time I spent with Alpha Males were... non-consensual.” She was silent, and I worried about what she would say in response, so I continued before I lost my nerve. “Tony would be the first guy I’ve ever...pursued for a  _ romantic relationship _ . I don’t really know how to be a  _ girlfriend _ . My friend, Wade, said I am ‘girlfriend material’ and I was flattered, but like...what’s the timeline for this type of stuff? Is moving in too fast? Is this even the right choice, considering the past month? I mean, there are things all of us could have done differently, I know, and I forgave them for it because Rogers was pretty charming, but I don’t know if I’m doing things in the wrong way for the wrong reasons.” I cut myself off, taking a deep breath to calm myself. “I thought asking you would make the most sense, seeing as you know Stark much better than I do. Hell, you know the  _ Avengers  _ much better than I do. I just...I don’t know what I’m doing, and I’m  _ scared _ .” Pep took in a deep breath on the other line, and when she spoke again, her tone was reminiscent of the Beta tone she used with Thor on my first night in the Tower, though this was deeper and more calming. 

_ “I understand what you mean, Circe. I’ve been in your shoes more than once.” _ My shoulders dropped with relief. If she understood, then she could help me. She was quiet for a moment.  _ “Answer something for me, Circe: do you  _ **_want_ ** _ to be with your soulmate?” _

“Yes,” I replied immediately.

_ “Then that’s all you need to know to decide whether it is the best course or not.” _

I was silent, trapped in my thoughts, a frown tugging at my lips. A part of me scoffed.  **_If it was that simple, we wouldn’t have called_ ** _. But that isn’t true.  _ I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to cut down that line of thinking before it could get longer and fester. 

_ “From your silence, I may need to do more convincing than I thought.”  _ She let out a relaxed, chuckle and I blinked, refocusing on the phone call. I felt a little embarrassed for zoning her out. “ _ Tony is difficult with emotions, and sometimes, he cannot tell who is his friend and who wants to ruin him. But once he recognizes you as a friend, he is extremely loyal and listens to your problems -- no matter how mundane or silly they may seem to him. That’s one of the reasons I fell in love with him, and one of the reasons I remained his friend and CEO after we split. He has never made me feel stupid, and he’s kind, and funny as hell.” _ She paused.  _ “When he began asking me to date him, I was worried. He had been in many relationships, and I was not as skilled at them as he was. I focused on my career because I wanted to have a stable career before I dated. I had doubts that he actually cared for me, and I was scared he would cheat on me and break my heart. But I learned quickly that when he’s dating someone, he showers them with everything he  _ **_is_ ** _ when he is able to and doesn’t expect anything back except love. _

_ “He is  _ **_‘boyfriend material’_ ** _ for sure.” _ She let out a laugh; a reminiscent, nostalgic laugh. I licked my lips, listening intently to her words.  _ “But you two are soulmates; you are on a different level than I ever was with him. And from our talk, today, I consider you one of my friends, and I hope it is the same on your end. And as your friend and a girl that has had a few relationships in my life, I can tell you that it’s okay to not know what you’re doing and to be scared. Most people are like that when they enter a new relationship -- they are hesitant and worried they will get hurt, or that they’ll put so much effort into it without their partner putting in the same amount. Either way, love is different for everyone, and while you may not be in love with Tony, yet, I can tell you for a fact that he is already in love with you.” _ My heart almost stopped as butterflies twirled around in my belly. She didn’t allow me to reply, continuing with an amused but gentle laugh,  _ “Of course, people usually start with a couple of dates before they decide to move in, and it is  _ **_definitely_ ** _ a bit untraditional to move in after a kidnapping, but you will receive a warm welcome,  _ **_especially_ ** _ from Tony. _

_ “He  _ **_wants_ ** _ you there. That phone call earlier was all about how you were coming to stay and how I had to make sure everything you wanted from your house was moved to the Tower. He was literally rambling with how excited he was. ‘Whatever she wants, I don’t care how much it is, she can have it! I don’t care if she still wants a fluffy dog, or fifty cats. If she wants it, let her have it!’”  _ Pepper laughed boisterously, shaking her head.  _ “The last time I told him I wanted a cat, he said he would rather die!”  _ I followed suit, a giggle unconsciously escaping my lips and making me cringe with embarrassment. Pepper didn’t notice and continued on,  _ “And the other Avengers want you there, too -- well, at  _ **_least_ ** _ six others definitely want you there, you living with them was all they talked about whenever I asked about you.” _ She went quiet, and I huffed a laugh.  _ Subtle, Pep. Very subtle. _ She began rambling about how much they would love to have me there, as well, and I zoned out, losing myself in my thoughts.

“Hey, Pep?” I began with a bit of hesitation. She cut off her rambling and hummed. “This may be a bit too personal to ask but why  _ did  _ you and Stark break up?” She was quiet for a moment before sighing, my heart pounding anxiously as I waited for her response.  _ What if they were still in love with each other? What if whatever broke their relationship happens again?  _

_ “I knew Tony for a couple of years before he became Iron Man. He was the only one that thought I was well-suited for the PA job. When he became Iron Man and began saving the world, I realized that he could get hurt,”  _ she trailed off, her voice sad and distant,  _ “and maybe not come back. I couldn’t live like that, wondering if he would come back to me or not. So I ended the relationship a couple of years ago.” _ I hummed gently, nodding to myself.  _ “I must say, I don’t envy you. Having him as a soulmate is wonderful, and I hope you guys spend a very long time together, happy and thriving. But should you become an Avenger for real, or continue your two jobs instead, you will constantly worry about him not coming back to you.”  _

She was right. I was already wondering how Stark was doing, as my Omega officially recognized him as her mate. Once the other six were recognized, I would  _ have  _ to become an Avenger just to make sure they were okay. I wouldn’t be able to handle knowing my soulmate was fending for himself in a battle while I attended board meetings and hunted down hits.

“You know, Pep, you’re too smart for your own good.” She laughed lightly, fully aware of the inward battle I was having. “Now, about moving in…”

_ “Yes, of course. Why don’t we keep your former room, and when you and your soulmate are further along in your relationship, you can room with him.” _ She began rustling papers around and typing something on her keyboard. My eyebrow quirked for a second at her blatant removal of ‘ _ Tony _ ,’ but I didn’t reply. “ _ Now, couples fight, so let’s get you a separate room for a workshop, and get some workers on it. Do you want your walls a different color? What specific things do you want in your workshop? Is there a specific floor you want, or a view?” _ I grinned at her excitement, the anxiety sweating stopping finally.

“Well...I would like them to have windows, and my workshop to have as  _ many  _ windows as possible. If at least a few of them could open, that would be great. But other than that, I would just need the rooms removed of all furniture and other items. I would like to decorate my room and workshop, myself. And is it alright if I have a separate office? With the same amount of open windows?” She was a bit disappointed. “It’s just that...my taste in decorations and furniture is  _ vastly  _ different from the bachelor pad Stark sports.  _ Very _ ,  _ very  _ different.” The distant typing stopped, and I could sense her scepticism. 

_ “What type of style is it that you like?” _ I laughed at her wary tone.

“Do me a favor: go on Pinterest and type in cottage-core-house.” She typed quickly and I heard her release a scandalized gasp that made me chuckle. “My house and its insides are a replica of the cottagecore aesthetics  _ (and a bit of steampunk, but that’s mostly decorations and sculptures) _ , and I have a  _ lot  _ of plants. You should come by and have a tour while I pack up my things. I’ll show you all of my favorite spots.”

_ “I’ll be there in thirty with coffee.” _

~+~+~+~

Needless to say, Pepper was true to her word: standing on my doorstep, fresh from a yellow taxi, with the largest coffees she could get from Starbucks -- mine with extra pumps of espresso and mocha, and hers a black coffee with three packets of sugar.  _ (Coffee wouldn’t do too much for me, but with enough espresso, my heart pumped faster.) _

While waiting for her, I made phone calls to my lawyers and Chris, telling them about my moving in with the Avengers before I began creating boxes to pack my things in. I didn’t withhold the information that Stark was my soulmate, as I had a feeling it would become public knowledge sooner rather than later.

_ “Ms. Potts is here, Boss,” _ Cerberus said politely as I combed through my house.  _ “I have allowed her entry.”  _ Right on cue, there was a crisp, polite knock on my door.

“Coming!” 

I rushed down the winding staircase and towards the wooden door, pulling it open and grinning at the woman before me. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing tight jeans, a white shirt, and black converse. It surprised me as I assumed she would have been wearing a business suit or something equally professional. Pepper grinned, noticing my surprised look at her attire. 

“I thought I’d help you move what I can,” she said, answering my unspoken question. She sounded much more relaxed and friendly, and her voice was almost musical in a way. She held up a briefcase I hadn’t noticed. “I hope you don’t mind, but I brought some formal paperwork regarding your move. I was hoping we could go over it after that tour you promised.” I gave her a devilish grin and stepped forward to wrap my arms around her.

“You and I are going to have so much fun!” 


	11. "I've Read Them so Many Times that I Remember All of the Words."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Maybe I shouldn’t spread my life around that much within a short time period."
> 
> "I can’t say too much on the subject of fashion, considering I either look like a hobo, a gay man, or a cottagecore lesbian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a little house somewhere,  
> Surrounded by green cedar boughs,  
> Where we are eating oatcakes with honey,  
> Dipping them in our tea three times for good luck.  
> Somewhere I am sitting with you in stillness.
> 
> \-- Phoebe Wahl

**Chapter Eleven: "I’ve Read Them so Many Times that I Remember All of the Words."**

The next four hours was all about showing Pepper everything that made my house amazing before we finally finished the tour and began the paperwork. We started in the bunker. The entrance was hidden in a supply closet off of the basement training room, and we had to walk down a set of spiral stairs to the bunker. 

The bunker was like a regular old house with a good amount of rooms, but there were more sustainable foods and water jugs packed away in cupboards than in my actual kitchen. Pepper’s favorite part was the workshop/lab that looked entirely like my own in the attic. It had an exact copy of my inventions and servers, but none of the living plants were down here due to the “needing sun to live” issue. But it didn’t matter, considering I had dried herbs placed safely on the shelves.  _ (When I made items for my workshop, or bought them, I always did in twos so that I could put the second one down here -- just in case.) _

The basement was like a regular gym, so Pepper wasn’t all that impressed with it. It wasn’t until I showed her a few of my strengths that she asked about certain objects and where I had gotten them so they could be placed in the training room in the Tower.  _ (I explained my powers in great detail, and I could comfortably say that she was well onto knowing everything about me -- just like Wade, Peter, Fury, Weasel, and Chris.) That list is pretty big, _ I thought incredulously.  _ Maybe I shouldn’t spread my life around that much within a short time period. _

The first floor consisted of the library, living room, dining room, a half-bathroom, and kitchen. Most of the rooms had giant windows for my plants, but the dining room didn’t have as many  _ (which meant I could put the plants that needed the most shade in there) _ . I had around five or so plants in every room, and most of them were potted, and I was obviously taking them -- they were my babies! Pepper loved the library and kitchen the most, due to both of them having the rustic, steampunk/Victorian look, and she thought the many mushroom lamps I had littered around each room were hilarious.  _ (Apparently, she was the one who decorated the rooms of the Avengers, and while she was a city girl, she was a country girl by heart. It was no wonder she gasped at the pictures of cottagecore. She hadn’t known that existed!) _

She loved the garden, gushing about it and taking pictures so that she could show her mother and sister back home. The backdoor leading outside was situated in the kitchen, though we had to walk through a medium-sized mudroom where my laundry machines were located to get to the actual backdoor into the garden. 

While I didn’t have a back porch, I had a smaller sized wooden staircase that ended at a stone pathway. It had two columns on either side with chinese lanterns on top, which I usually put “eternal” flames inside during the night. Each of the paths -- whether they were stone or grass -- were lined with tiny solar mushrooms that emitted a small glow  _ (that was why I placed them everywhere, so there would be some sort of light) _ . To give further light, I had lanterns with bigger, LED light mushrooms hanging from trees or wooden posts I had placed around the garden with basket plants  _ (mostly petunias or zinnias for the hummingbirds)  _ hanging from an iron hook. If I needed more light for parties, I strung up lightbulb lights on the wooden posts, and used stake torch lights that were easy to take out and turn off. There were quite a few spots in the garden that were perfect for dozing off, and everytime a new person came to see it, they wanted to camp outside during spring, which made the lighting very useful by midnight.

On the left side of the path sat my main garden -- full of lavender, peonies, ferns, azalea, bluebells, sunflowers, butterfly bushes and lilies, hibiscus and jasmine, with little grass walkways between each cluster. I had statues of gnomes, Buddha, and mythical creatures situated around that had the hidden tranquilizer guns inside, and each wooden pole had tubes inside that could come out of the top and shoot poisoned darts  _ (Cerberus’ idea) _ . Fruit trees were planted along the white wall, wrapping around my entire garden to hide it from prying neighborly eyes but give them fruits as they tended to hang over the wall-line. 

The right side of the path contained my vegetable garden, the planter boxes and pots directly next to the path and sitting in rows. It was easier for me to water them situated the way they were, and much easier to pick.  _ (A few of the plants I potted for tea in the future would take over every other plant if they were placed in the soil, as well.) _ Other than that, the right side was mostly open and free, big enough for garden parties and future pets.

The one thing that Pepper loved more than anything, though, was where the path from the door led: the gazebo. It was a long pathway that stopped at the gazebo placed five feet away from the fruit trees. The path led to a large pond that held mostly koi fish, and it had a water mill beside the edge of it to keep the water flowing and irrigating my gardens. There was a wooden Japanese bridge over the pond that led to another path surrounded by more flowers. As the fruit trees tended to give the most shade around the garden, I tended to keep lupines, hydrangea, fuchsias, and coral bells four feet from their trunks all around the garden  _ (including the clear area as like a sort of border between the fruit trees and the grass) _ . 

White and red rose bushes were wrapped around the wood gazebo with garden statues of  _ Alice in Wonderland _ characters I had found at a garage sale hidden amongst the clusters of free grass. There was a small bench situated under the gazebo with a table, numerous vine wall-lights that I wreathed together to wrap around the entire ceiling  _ (thank you, Walmart),  _ and a small bookcase with blankets, pillows, a foldable futon mattress, and some other camping gear hidden away in a corner for when I wanted to stay outside to read.

Pepper didn’t want to leave, so we sat and talked in the gazebo for an hour before she decided we should get on with the rest of the tour. Stark and the others tried calling her while she took pictures, but she only answered a few times to tell them to stop it.  _ (“I am busy taking pictures of your soulmate’s house, Tony, so don’t call me!” She hung up just as quickly as she answered.) _ She took a few extra moments taking an apple from one of the trees and biting into it, humming with satisfaction and gazing around the garden with longing awe. 

The next floor was full of bedrooms, as was the third  _ (though my home office was located there, as well). _ At one point, I wanted to theme every bedroom, but lost the motivation for it, so they remained mint-green/white, unfeeling guest bedrooms. I took the time to show her my own bedroom, and we went over what clothes I would be taking. She loved that I was just as OCD as her: one side  _ had  _ to be for my CEO clothes, and the other side had to be for casual wear  _ (dresses for parties against the wall in the far back) _ . 

“These are all gorgeous!” Pepper said, looking through the CEO side of my closet. “From the dress you wore at the party last week, I thought you would be into expensive name brands. But these aren’t name brands!” I laughed airly, shrugging my shoulders. Rich people were often expected to wear name brands, but I liked to focus my attention on the Indie Brands. Many of the ones I bought from were ones I helped catapult into the clothing industry. 

“No, name brands are overpriced atrocities. Though I can’t say too much on the subject of fashion, considering I either look like a hobo, a gay man, or a cottagecore lesbian.” I pulled out one of my favorite suits -- a red one with printed flowers covering the fabric -- showing it to her. “Most of my clothes are made from Indie Designers; up and coming. I like to find the underdogs and help them build their businesses. That is what I’m doing with Daniel Noir, Senator Noir’s daughter. She wants to be an artist more than a CEO, but her parents are pressuring her. I’m hoping that we can build her company on artistic means -- makeup, art, paint supplies, and so on -- and when we have a better CEO candidate, we can switch them out. Similar to what you and Stark did, so she can focus on her art.” Her eyes lifted up to look at me, surprise and slight apprehension in them. I raised an eyebrow. “What?” 

“Senator Noir was in contact with us, recently,” Pepper began, a slight frown on her face. “He wanted to do business with Stark Industries, but we declined. He wanted weapons, and assumed we were dealing under the table. But the Stark Industry Weapons he was referring to were from years ago. Unfortunately, we have yet to recover all of them and dispose of them, so they are still moving around the world.” I hummed, nodding. 

“I see.” I tisked. “Well, you’re going to hear a lot of rumors about me coming from  _ Senator Noir _ pretty soon.” Her back straightened and her eyes narrowed. 

“What? Is he threatening you?” I shook my head, slightly shocked at her protectiveness. 

“Nah. He’s mad I converted his daughter into following her dreams instead of his.” I shrugged, handing the suit over to Pepper. “Try it on, I think you’ll like it.” She blinked, looking down at the suit before smiling, moving to my room where the three-panel cover was situated. “He was hoping Dani was my mate, since she was an Alpha-Female.” Pepper let out a scandalized gasp, her shirt being placed on the top of the panels. 

“ _ No _ ,” she breathed. It amused me how hard she worked to hide the fact she loved good, scandalizing gossip. I laughed, nodding though she couldn’t see. “Was this at that party? Tony didn’t tell me anything about that!” 

“Yes, it was. That was why I went there to see if it was her, but also because Fury wanted me to get info on the Senator.” I could hear her pulling the suit on, the rustling of fabric hitting my ears. “All he did was check out my boobs, and eye me like I was meat; made my stomach churn with nausea. I’m running on the assumption that because he wanted his daughter to be a famous CEO, he thought I would be the easiest way for that to happen. If I turned out to be her mate, then as my Alpha, she would take over and run the company while I  _ ‘stay home’ _ and  _ ‘clean the house.’ _ Gross. As if I would do that. And I bet her parents would visit without calling, and no doubt he’d try to overpower my  _ ‘helpless Omega-self’ _ into something I didn’t want to do.” I snorted, checking my nails as she dressed. Pepper was silent, a worried scent coming from her. I bit my lip and ignored it, thinking of a way to get rid of it. “No worries at that end, though. Dani’s mate is one of her closest childhood friends, Billie Cortez. She’s a sweet girl. Wanted to be a publicist, so I’m sending her to school with a scholarship and paid off loans, and getting her an internship at my company. And my team had them placed in a house Dani’s father couldn’t find them at.” Pepper peeked out at me with wide eyes.

“That’s awfully nice of you.” I shrugged.

“If you think that’s nice, you should hear what I’m doing for her  _ other  _ two friends.” She raised an eyebrow and I huffed, grinning at the curious woman. “Damon Romans wants to be an actor, so I had him introduced to a few directors and actors I know in Hollywood. He’s gonna start out small: commercials, TV shows, interviews, maybe MCing game shows, and then movies. His soulmate and Billie’s younger sister, Angelica Cortez, wants to be a fashion designer. She made Billie this beautiful dress -- a total Fairy Princess-y, live-action  _ Sleeping Beauty _ worthy dress -- that I fell in love with. Told her if she made me one in royal blue, I’d pay her fifty grand.” I cocked my head, remembering the conversation as a small smile tugged at my lips. “They don’t want charity, of course, so I’m going to buy many dresses from her in the future.” Pepper hummed and stepped out from behind the panels, showing me what the suit looked like. She had a small blush on her face as she looked down at the satin dress shirt.

“It’s a bit big.” I chuckled and waved her over to a mirror. She followed my directions and looked at herself in the mirror, gasping at how she looked. The suit was rather plain on the outside: black blazer, dark grey button-up, and black slacks. But the inside was where it counted. I grabbed the sleeve of the blazer where the standard silver cufflinks sat, and squeezed the sides of it. Immediately, the shirt tightened around her form, along with the slacks and blazer. Now, it was skin-tight, professional, and breathable. Pepper gasped. “Oh, wow! How did it  _ do  _ that?” I chuckled at her response, grinning as she turned around to look at herself in the mirror.

“I made the cufflinks with a bit of magic and silver.” She thumbed the cufflink, staring at it in awe. “They had the idea of what they wanted, but obviously, the sudden fitting is unheard of and needed a bit of magic. I made them prototype cufflinks that, when squeezed, they would fit to the wearer, giving them a flattering flare. Of course, the cufflinks were a hit with them and they wanted to know what else I could make the cufflinks do. I made them prototypes of cufflinks that change colors of the suits, fire and water resistant, and another that made the suits rip resistant. They could be put with any other suit and work, though, so there were some things they had to take into consideration. 

“After we signed a few contracts about pricing and sales (myself getting seventy-five percent of cuff-link sales, as I produce them and they sell them, and getting new clothes they will be marketing for free), I helped them create a time-line of when to release cufflinks and create suits that would work best with each cufflink.” Pepper was enthralled with what I was saying, watching me with shocked eyes. “For example, this suit’s fabric and design work best with the form-fitting cufflinks. It can work with the color-changing ones, as well, but since this one is black, the colors won’t take unless they’re going for dark grey or navy blue. And if the same suit was white, the colors wouldn’t be as vibrant. Now, they can have this style of suit made but with different fabric that would work best with the color-changing cufflinks, but the form-fitting cufflinks make the suit fabric look a bit wrinkly and frumpy. Not  _ too  _ bad, though.” I chuckled, shrugging at Pepper’s expression. “They’ve been going strong for five years. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of them or these cufflinks.”

“To be honest,” Pepper laughed sheepishly, “I don’t go shopping in person as often as you would think. And when I do, it’s for shoes, and everything else is online. I have so much work to do at S.I. that I haven’t been keeping up with fashion like I used to.” I nodded, understanding completely. 

“I’m actually helping them make shoes and a couple of broaches for their dresses, as well, but the shoes are a joint product. I’m thinking of doing dressy, professional shoes first and then a range of boots. As Omega Pharmaceuticals is all about protecting Omegas and keeping them safe during their daily lives, I am thinking of adding certain things, too.” I zoned out a bit, rambling as I thought about it longer. “They’re going to be selling them at high-end stores, but I’m going to put them on our website. Not sure if I’m going to mark down the prices so they are affordable, or send out coupons. Maybe put some in the boxes of my products when the release date gets closer.” Pepper placed a hand on my shoulder, making me jump and leave my thoughts. 

She was giving me an awed yet amused smile. She ran her eyes over my face, her eyes growing distant while she thought about something. 

“You know,” she began, pausing for a few seconds and looking into my eyes, “you and Tony are like the same person, but  _ so  _ different.” I cocked an eyebrow and she laughed, shaking her head. “Yep,  _ same  _ person, different gender.” I rolled my eyes and noticed she was dressed in her old clothes, holding out the folded suit. “It’s amazing that you made those cufflinks. And I’m excited to see what you will make for the shoes. I hope I can try them out when you get the prototypes made.” I nodded once, a sheepish blush coming onto my face. I grabbed the folded suit and set it on my bed, waving my hand and bringing out multiple duffle bags and suitcases I had either bought or been given over the years. They laid on the floor next to my bed.

“Wanna see my office and workshop?” She nodded and I guided her out of the room and back to the hallway, towards the last door that housed my office. “Alright, this is my office. The stairs to my workshop are through here, but I gotta put in some codes. You can look around if you want.”

Pepper looked around the room, her eyes wide with wonder.

It was a stereotypical Victorian-styled office with refurbished furniture pieces made out of walnut wood. It had three windows along one long wall, and five year old succulent plants hung above each one in hanging baskets. The wall space that was between them carried pictures of numerous  _ Opening Days _ from every office building/production facility O.P. had.

My nine-drawer, walnut wood desk was five feet from the Wall of Books with a singular door that was originally intended to be a closet. Now, it housed the entrance to my workshop/lab, after you got through the initial passcodes. The top of my desk had papers strewn around from when I was going over numbers before she called, a pen holder, three baskets with papers _ (ones to do, ones finished, and ones that needed to go to others on my team) _ , a box that held wax and seal presses for letters  _ (the one most used being a custom ‘O.P.’ one with tiny vines of leaves above and below the letters),  _ and the landline phone I used to talk to her.

The “Wall of Books” was just three bookcases filled with personal journals, original manuals for my inventions, books relating to everything business-centered, and a few porcelain figurines that I used as bookends. An old standing globe was off to the left of my desk, a tall snake plant was off to the right, and a cream rug with honey bee prints took up half of the floor, the cold hardwood standing out against the soft rug. 

The wall connected to the door we walked through carried the restored Victorian clock I found at an estate sale, and had a long, wooden cabinet standing against it. I used it as a filing cabinet for numerous documents related to O.P., but nothing important was in it. On top of the cabinet, I had five shadow boxes containing Chinese Cork Art  _ (ranging from the size of my palm to both of my hands put together) _ and four medium-sized Jade statues  _ (a dragon, two lions standing columns, and a dragon boat with gold lettering on the Jade sails)  _ sitting on a forest green lace doily. 

The last wall carried Honeybee Art; some were prints of Natural History illustrations, but others were hand-painted pictures of honeybees with flowers or plants. A chestnut brown, thin, standing cabinet with glass doors carried mason jars of incense  _ (whether they were different colored sticks, cups, or cones) _ , bundles of multicolored sage, and different scented candles that I had grown to love over the years. Beside the tall cabinet, I had a smaller table made out of the same wood with a singular drawer, though this one was around five feet long. It was sturdy enough to carry a mini-springs pagoda fountain made out of stone and bamboo on the left end, a green-leaved bonsai tree about the same height as the fountain on the right end, and three incense burners in the middle  _ (one a brass lotus burner, one black burner with a carved honeybee, and a simple, flat incense holder with a tiny buddha) _ . And in the drawer, I had a multitude of matches and magazines with informational articles about incense and sage.

In front of the two cabinets, however, were two mustard-yellow armchairs with a single brown coffee table between them. One chair had a brown pillow sitting in it, and the other had a fluffy mustard yellow blanket thrown over the back. The coffee table didn’t have much on it -- just a couple of books I had been reading -- and the small area was almost four feet away from my desk, kitty-cornered. 

While Pepper looked around my room, I walked to my desk to grab a few of the papers I had laying around. I began organizing them, separating them into their correct basket as I heard Pepper walk around. At first, she went to my statue and Cork Art collection and then my little Zen Area. She opened the cabinet and opened one of the candles, the smell of  _ Pink Lychee _ reaching my nose. She sighed, and I almost laughed.

“Circe,” she began gently, to which I hummed and glanced up from behind my desk, “while we were walking through your house and the garden, I noticed you have a lot of Asian scrolls and statues placed about. Why do you have so much art around your house?” A bitter grin came over my face, a nostalgic and bitter feeling contaminating me.

“When I was  _ reintegrating  _ with society after I fled HYDRA, one of the places I had taken great interest in was China Town in San Francisco. Since then, whenever I felt the urge to go to any China Town, I would buy either a Jade Statue or Cork Art. Sometimes, I switch it up and go to Japan Town or Korea Town. All three places have great food, so I keep going back.” I motioned around the room to the honeybee art. “Recently, I have taken up a liking for bees, as you can see. To be honest, I’m not even sure I  _ like  _ bees.” Pepper laughed lightly and the bitter grin morphed into a genuine, happy one. My Omega purred at the woman’s laughter, and so did I. She felt almost  _ sisterly _ , in a way. 

I finished organizing my papers and finally moved to the door off to the side. There was a keypad off to the left, built into the wall. I pressed in the pin and scanned my thumb, a click sounding. I pushed open the door and was greeted by a small, empty closet. At one point, I used it as a panic room, putting in monitors for the cameras around the house and a minifridge with water and food. Now, however, I either used my workshop/lab or the bunker as my panic room due to all of my inventions being in both -- it would just depend on which one I was closer to. The only thing in the closet was a STARKPad length screen in the wall. 

“Do you read all of these books?” I glanced back at Pepper through the doorway. She was eyeing the Wall of Books with contemplative eyes, reading some of their spines. 

“I don’t really need to. I’ve read them so many times that I practically remember all of the words.” I was hesitant to talk about them, and I could tell that she noticed as I turned back to the screen without continuing. 

The screen was bright with a blue virtual keypad, a singular question, and a blinking cursor in the empty box. Both the workshop/lab and the bunker had the same screen, and to be able to enter either area, three questions would have to be answered correctly. And the answers were ones only Cerberus and I knew -- Chris and Pepper, unfortunately, would never have that privilege unless a raid happened on my home and they needed to hide. I began typing in the answers as she walked towards the wall, pulling out a book.

“ _ ‘How to Use Gravity Defying Shoes For Dummies. Chapter One: The Rules,’ _ ” I grinned, shaking my head as she read aloud on of the manuals, flipping pages, “ _ ‘Rule One: Don’t Be an Idiot.’ _ ” I snorted out a laugh, the screen flashing green in acceptance of my answers before the camera scanned my face. 

_ “Welcome Back, Boss. Welcome to the Workshop and Laboratory of Lady Supreme, Ms. Potts,”  _ Cerberus greeted, a sound of steam releasing as the door to the attic opened at the opposite end of the closet. Pepper let out a loud laugh, the sound of the book closing hitting my ears before she placed it back on the shelf. 

“Lady  _ Supreme _ ?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. I winked at her.

“ADHD at it’s  _ finest _ , baby.” I flipped my hair with a cocky laugh, listening to her boisterous laughter in response. I chuckled and stepped away as the stairs slowly came out, going to the end of the seven feet long closet before stopping. “After I did it, he wouldn’t let me take it back.” Cerberus hummed in response.

_ “Do not blame me for your flaws,  _ **_Lady Supreme_ ** _.”  _ My jaw dropped and I looked at Pepper, her face growing red with laughter and tears filling her eyes. I didn’t know whether to laugh at his sass, or punish him. Couldn’t do much, though, considering he’s a computer. _ “Everything is still to your liking, Boss.”  _ I coughed, still reeling.

“Fuck you, Cerberus. After all I’ve done for you, you  _ sass  _ me? Ugh! So hard to find good help these days.” Cerberus hummed haughtily but said nothing. I glanced back at a grinning Pepper, watching her wipe at her eyes and breathe heavily to calm herself. “Ready, Pep?” She nodded vigorously and followed me up the sturdy stairs and to the lab. “Here we are:  _ Inventor Paradise _ .” Pepper gasped, her eyes taking in the large workspace. 

“ _ Wow _ ,” she breathed, slowly walking away from the stairs and further into the room. “This is amazing. I think this is bigger than  _ Tony’s  _ Workshop, and -- oh, wow! How did you make it look like this? Half modern, half rustic, and... _ multicolored _ ?” She let out a breathy laugh, tuning a circle and looking at everything. I chuckled, walking further in and towards her.

“When I built the house, I made sure the attic was like a fourth floor. It runs the entire length of the house, and up a bit.” I stopped next to her and pointed off to the far, right corner of the room. There was an archway that led into another “room.” She gasped and rushed towards it, moving around tables and chairs, stepping over springs and gears that fell off one of the tables last time I was in here. I grinned at her enthusiasm and slowly made my way over to her.

The left side of the attic was made specifically for inventions. Facing the stairs back to the closet, sat four, six-feet-tall, private servers that housed Cerberus’ mainframe along with everything I’ve ever worked on  _ (technology-wise) _ . If I searched a word up on Google or saved a picture to my computer, it was saved instantly on the servers -- unless I erased it entirely through Cerberus. As these were my private servers, all of my computers and phones in the house were connected and had their information saved here. However, I produced O.P. Phones for my employees, and everything they did on those phones were saved on different servers somewhere in Ohio  _ (which they knew, as they had to sign papers about it).  _

Like Stark’s lab, I had cabinets lining the wall full of tools -- whether they were for welding, carpenting, electricians, or anything else. The tables mostly consisted of metals, springs, screws, nails, anything I could use to make something. I had transparent screens placed above the tool cabinets, on the far back wall, and hanging above the walkway in the middle of the attic for Cerberus to display blueprints, pictures, and anything else that I would need while working. The end of the wall carried display cases of all of my inventions -- from O.P. products to the cufflinks, magic eight balls to chameleons, comms to illusions, everything I invented was displayed  _ (along with the Gravity-Defying Shoes that took me three months to make) _ . 

The wall at the end of the attic, sharing the archway, had the same transparent screens, but they were displaying the feed from all of the cameras in the house, along with those outside of it. If someone was walking by, the borders of the small rectangular image would flash red, but if Cerberus didn’t deem them worrisome, he didn’t tell me about them. Underneath the screens, there was a long table-like desk that was outfitted with bookshelves underneath the entire length, except for a small area of two feet. The bookshelves contained textbooks, reference books, informational magazines and articles, and specific scientific/inventor theses with different and wide-ranging components I wanted to use for my own inventions. 

Sitting on top of the table-desk sat three computer monitors and a single keyboard. They were connected to the main servers, and when I needed to hack into something, these were my go-to monitors. I had electronic tablets that I could write/draw on while working hooked up to the computer monitors through bluetooth. When I saved them on the tablets, I could pull them up on the monitors or the screens when I needed to look back at them. It was easier to create the blueprints that lived rent-free in my mind and wouldn’t leave unless I wrote them down.

The right side of the attic was  _ strictly  _ herbal and organic items. Mostly, it was for O.P. products -- like the scent blockers and heat pills -- but I tended to use my magic, as well, to help create them. Along the wall, I had a “bookcase” full of corked vials and glass jars, and aluminum lidded mason jars filled with dried herbs I had collected, the jars ranging in shapes and sizes. I had a few “witchy” journals placed between a few of the herbal jars they had the most information on, along with six or seven different mortar and pestles on the bottom shelf.

Three feet in front of the wall, I had a long and sturdy wooden table that held potted plants that I would need fresh for my experiments, and numerous measuring tools.  _ (I had skylights built into the roof for the plants, along with solar panels on both sides of the roof.) _ On a seperate table, close to the archway Pepper had gone through, sat the tools I used to make my organic products. It was a complicated process -- a mixture of organic chemistry, naturopathic medicine, brain power, and a tiny bit of magic that I already had infused with a basic, organic chemical -- but the factories that produced them were able to push out completely perfect batches.

While the attic was gorgeous in its own right, it had a significant problem:  _ my ADHD _ . 

Every surface within the lab had multicolored Post-It-Notes stuck to it, the transparent screens, the beakers and mason jars, the sides of the tables had ones stuck to their ledges, my old and newer inventions, and a few were even on the floor. 

I walked down the wide aisle, waving my hand and using magic to pick up the scrap metals, papers, and Post-It-Notes from off of the floor. As I walked towards the archway, I could hear Pepper snapping pictures on her phone, squealing as she talked to herself. I chuckled, leaning against the archway and watching her as she twirled unconsciously around the room.

This room wasn’t anything special. While I had room to make small inventions, I didn’t have the room to create big ones, like my van. If I had a garage, it would have been easier to do maintenance on it, but since I didn’t have the room with all of my plants, I converted this part of the attic for big projects.

It was within the spiral/cone tower and had the only balcony on the house -- one wide enough to carry two cars, and sturdy enough to carry the weight of four. The balcony itself was practically a helicopter pad, the floor of it completely green with a singular yellow circle that had an ‘H’ inside of it. The railing was similar to the wall around my property, but was completely black and made of steel in a block-like structure. Within the steel wall, I had placed machine guns, missiles, tranquilizer guns, and other weapons, for the instance that I would be overrun with HYDRA helicopters or trucks.  _ (So far, I have yet to have need for them.) _ The doorway to the balcony consisted of a wooden, grey, barn-like door that rolled open on a set of tracks.

Within the pentagon-like room, there were black and blue tool cabinets with mechanical tools, a car lift in the middle of the room, and bins of old car parts next to the balcony door. On the other side of the room, near the archway I was leaning against, I had an old mustard-yellow couch with two down blankets and a pillow from my bed. Beside it, there was a mini-fridge with bottles of soda, juices, and a styrofoam container of old pizza. _ (I meant to throw that out.)  _

The top of the cone tower had two open, seven-feet-long panels for sunlight and air, and thick wood rafters that one could stand on without breaking. And hanging from hooks drilled into those rafters and panel boards, was a multitude of wind chimes and suncatchers, ranging in size, color, and sound. Most of them were traditional Asian ones that had high pitched, musical ‘dings’, and others were made of crystals or pieces of mosaic art. They casted dots of rainbow light over the room, ones that twisted and turned as the wind blew through. 

“What do you do when it rains?” Pepper asked, grabbing my attention. She was slowly turning in a circle, taking a video of the room.

“Cerberus either closes the panels entirely, or he places a screen so the wind can still come in.” She moved the camera up and over the ceiling, focusing on the panels before walking it towards the balcony. I sat on the couch, moving the blankets and pillow off to the side and crossing my legs. “Stark and Dr. Banner have their own musical tastes when they are working -- either blasting rock music or playing classical. I, on the other hand, don’t really mind. When I work on my van or need to mediate, I come in here for the wind chimes. But if I’m inventing, I listen to pop.” She ran her camera over the garden below us before stopping the video and turning back to me, putting her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. She walked into the room and sat on the couch with me.

“What’s with the helicopter pad?” 

“My van.” Pepper was confused, but then a look of understanding crossed her face and she began another set of boisterous laughter.

“I remember Tony telling me about that!” She cackled, leaning back on the couch. “Did you really play ‘I Spy People Edition’ with Peter on your way back?” I cocked an eyebrow.

“I did.” She snorted with laughter and I cocked my head, confused. “Oh. They told you about Hobo Pat, didn’t they?” Pepper nodded vigorously, sniffling and rubbing at her eyes. During the ride, we passed a billboard of a bar called  _ ‘Hobo Pat’ _ , and I used that name. “Stark said I cheated because I used a guy on a billboard. We never made that a rule! He was real once, just...in the seventies.” I pouted as Pepper just chuckled, shaking her head.

“I believe you, Circe.” I thanked her haughtily and she rolled her eyes. “No plants in here or the balcony?” I shook my head.

“No, no plants.” I pointed over my shoulder to the workshop. “I shouldn’t have as many plants in there as I do. Firstly, it’s a fire hazard, and secondly, I could accidentally mix up the herbs or something while I’m working and botch the whole experiment.” She raised an eyebrow.

“Then why do you have so many in there?” I cocked my head, thinking it over.

“To be honest, I could put out the fires with a fire extinguisher -- got at least five placed around the lab -- and if I botch an experiment, who’s to say that it didn’t make it better than it could have been?” I paused.  _ That didn’t sound like it made sense _ . “I mean, science is all about finding new things through experiments. That’s what all the theses I have in here are about: I wanted to prove  _ this  _ was true, so I did these many  _ experiments _ , and produced these  _ results _ . As long as I keep a detailed log of what I am doing, whether through Cerberus’ cameras or by my own hand, then I shouldn’t have too many problems.” Pepper nodded.

“Have you made any mistakes during experiments that turned out to be good for it?” She asked, still curious. I grimaced, waving my hand in a so-so motion.

While she had seen Stark and Dr. Banner’s work, she hadn’t asked Dr. Banner much about his work and experiments. And Stark overshared everything, most of it flying over her head due to how much he was saying and how quickly he was saying it.  _ Pepper is sharp, _ I thought inwardly.  _ If he stopped to explain things she didn’t understand, or at least teach her a few terms, she would be able to follow along with what he was saying easily.  _

“I’ve made plenty of mistakes, but they don’t all turn out good for the experiment. My heat pills for example.” I stood up and went into the lab to grab a bottle of the pills, returning and sitting beside her. “They weren’t supposed to have pain relief, but I added the wrong substance in it, so now they’re pain-relief, as well. Sometimes, I add a bit of magic just so the substances can stick better together, or actually work the way I want.” She hummed and handed them back to me, a small grin on her face.

“Thank goodness I’m a Beta, then, huh?” She gave me a sly grin. “My heats only last three days, and even then, the only pain I feel are cramps.” I chuckled, nodding. Beta and Gamma heats/ruts were  _ much  _ different compared to Alpha and Omega ones.

While Betas and Gammas had them for three-four days every month with a range of cramping/raised stamina, Omegas were stuck with a week long, pain-filled heat every  _ other  _ month. Our sex drive was through the roof, and our scents were enticing to the other genders. We couldn’t go out without scent blockers on, but those that weren’t on heat pills to begin with wouldn’t need to; they could barely move from the pain. And those on substandard heat pills for too long, without stopping to have a heat every once in a while, had the potential of being feral when their heat catches up with them. 

Alphas, on the other hand, had ruts that would last a week, but were every three months. Mated Alphas and Omegas could have their heats/ruts sync up, but sometimes it took at least a year or two. Alphas were practically feral in the beginning of their ruts. While all Omegas had their mind about them for the first couple days, the  _ weaker  _ Alphas were following their sex drive. They would rape you without care if you weren’t cautious. Of course, as the heat/rut went on by days, Omegas were usually dazed during the end, but Alphas were in control by the end of theirs. I had heard a few horror stories -- seen a few, as well -- about Omegas being left out in the open by uncaring Alphas after their rut was over. It was one of the leading causes of sexual assault:  _ weak _ , unmated Alphas giving into their rut without proper precautions and ruining the lives of unmated Omegas, sometimes even claiming them in the heat of the moment. Many of them would be arrested and charged, but the worst of the bunch got away with it. 

That was one of the reasons that solidified my mercenary job: weak Alphas weakened the gene pool and needed to be disposed of. 

“Circe? You okay?” I blinked, a gentle hand placed on my shoulder pulling me out of my thoughts. Pepper was frowning, a bit of worry in her eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be offensive or anything like that.”  _ What was she talking about? _ I blinked again, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion. 

“You didn’t offend me at all, Pepperoni.” I grinned slyly at her, watching her grimace at the nickname. That was one of the nicknames Stark had given her that she hated. I offered to call her  _ baloney  _ and she almost punched me in the face. “I was just lost in my thoughts, remembering things I’d rather not remember.” I shook the bottle and stood up, setting them back in their spot.

“Why don’t we go over the paperwork, then?” She offered, having followed me back into the workshop. “And then I’ll help you start packing?” I nodded, giving her a small smile.

“Sure.” 

Pepper followed me back into my office, and I made no move to close the door to my workshop. As I still had packing to do up there, I didn’t find it important enough to close. I walked down the stairs and brought her lukewarm coffee and briefcase back up. We had forgotten them in the kitchen before we went into the garden, so they had gotten a bit cold. I threw mine away and trudged up the stairs, looking at my cellphone as I did so.  _ (I also debated on ordering pizza as it was twelve-thirty and I was starving.)  _

_ 10 Messages from Unknown Number _

_ 5 Messages from Unknown Number _

_ 2 Messages from Peter Parker _

_ 1 Message from Ned Leeds _

I cocked an eyebrow and went through the messages from Peter and Ned -- Peter asking what I would be at the Tower and how excited the Avengers seemed to be  _ (“other than Miss Romanoff, but she’s always like that”) _ , and Ned congratulating me on finding Stark was my soulmate  _ (“along with my condolences; Peter told me you didn’t like him too much”) _ . I chuckled and sent quick messages to the two teens before looking at the others, walking into my office with a small smile. Pepper was standing at the cupboard, smelling more of the candles, and turned to me when she heard my footsteps. 

“I  _ love  _ this one. Smells like Halloween when I was a child.” She held up an orange candle with a grin, the label saying  _ “Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin.” _ I laughed, placing her briefcase on the coffee table. I warmed my hand a bit with my magic, reheating her coffee a bit before setting it beside her briefcase. She put the candle back and closed the cupboard, moving to sit in the pillowed armchair. “Thank you for grabbing my things.” 

“Of course. No problem at all.” I went to my desk, grabbed two pens and an empty journal from one of my drawers, and went back to the chairs. Sitting down, I handed her one of the pens and opened the journal to the first page. “Alright, give me a second to get ready, please. Someone messaged me a bit ago, and I don’t know who it was.” 

“No worries, Circe. I have to get ready, as well.” We grinned at each other and began moving around in silence, Pepper opening her briefcase to grab papers and a STARKPad. I grabbed my cell phone and opened it up, looking through the remaining messages. 

I rolled my eyes; the first number was all Stark. He sent numerous messages asking about how everything was going, when I would be by the Tower, and if I needed help. A smile tugged at my lips and I sent back a simple:  _ ‘I’ll be there before dinner, Stark. Pep is gonna help me pack after we’re done with the contracts and stuff. I’ll see you later.’  _ I went to the other number, making a noise of surprise at seeing the senders: Thor and Loki.

_ LaDy CIRce,  _ the earliest one read, the next two consisting of,  _ tHis is THor and LOKi. ( _ Next.)  _ We aRE awaIting YOur Arrival patIEntly and eaGerly at tHe TOweR.  _ (Next.) _ We hOPe to seE you SOON. :)  _ I let out a breathy huff, smiling at the misshapen capitalizing Thor did. The next two messages were actually from Loki.

_ Lady Circe, I apologize for my brother’s constant and incorrectly written messages,  _ the first one read.  _ I thought it important for you to know the number assigned to my “phone” along with young Pietro’s. We shall see you, soon.  _ Two sets of numbers were listed in the second message, along with their names, and I chuckled. My phone vibrated with another message as I inputted their numbers, STARK’s name popping up. 

_ Contracts? What contracts?  _ I could tell that he was typing again, but he stopped, the ringing of a phone hitting my ears seconds later. I looked up at Pepper with a sheepish smile as she glanced down at her screen and then up at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Sorry, that’s my fault.” I rubbed my head sheepishly. “I just assumed  _ ‘contracts’  _ were a part of this deal and told Stark. My bad.” She shook her head, smiling in amusement and answering the phone call from Stark. I set down my phone and grabbed the journal and pen, ready to write down notes to go over with my lawyers later, when they ask. 

“Yes, Tony?” 

_ “What contracts? She doesn’t need contracts, she’s my soulmate!” _ I could hear Stark frantically telling Pepper on the other line, beginning to ramble.  _ “What if she doesn’t want to stay here because we want her to sign contracts, Pep? I don’t want to scare her off, Pep!”  _ Pepper gave me an indulgent smile, shaking her head at the man.

“Tony, I am giving her the contract you wanted everyone to sign upon moving into the Tower. Remember?” She paused, waiting for him to answer. Stark said a quiet ‘yes’, to which Pepper responded, “Then let me do my job, and we’ll give you a call back when we’re finished. Okay, Tony?” He huffed a sigh but replied that it was fine, a distant dinging reaching my ears. “Goodbye, Tony. We will see you by the end of the day.” He sighed again and was beginning to say something, but she hung up on him. I chuckled, rolling my eyes at Stark. “Phew. Alright, now, where were we? Ah, yes. This is for you.” She handed me a single packet of papers, stapled nicely together. “This contract is a simple contract used for when one buys or rents a house/apartment/etc. The only difference is that you do not have to pay rent, anything you break can be compensated by Tony, and free access to the indoor gym no matter what time. However, as you are moving into a Tower that is considered one of the leading technological companies of the world, we had to make a few adjustments. All of the Avengers, Dr. Foster, and Darcy have been given the same contract, and all have signed. While you read that over, I will look into rooms that could be renovated for your office and room.”

“Thank you.” I grabbed the contract, idly noting that she didn’t say anything about the workshop/lab, and began reading it over. 

It was a standard contract, similar to certain NDAs we had at O.P. for new employees that would be working with or around sensitive inventions. But as I mostly employed Omegas and Gammas, gave them a living wage suitable for New York, paid maternity leave and vacation, and Christmas/Birthday bonuses, they tended to  _ not want  _ to sell my secrets. I jotted down notes and questions in my journal, mostly things I found curious or wanted to remember, while listening to the idle tapping Pepper made on her STARKPad. When I was almost finished reading it through, Pepper cleared her throat and grabbed my attention. 

“There are six rooms that meet the requirements of space and windows for your office, and four rooms for your bedroom. I took the liberty of finding rooms better suited for you, based on your bedroom here, instead of the room you were staying in.” I grinned, thanking her. She nodded. “Now, how would you like me to narrow it down?” She had her fingers hovering over the keyboard of the STARKPad, but kept her eyes on me. I hummed. 

“My office will need to be soundproof. Do any of them have that?” She typed it into her pad and searched, an eyebrow twitching as she read over the results. 

“Two of the six have soundproof walls. One is on the floor I chose for your workshop, though it  _ is  _ on the smaller side, and the other would be on the floor of the main communal room for the Avengers. Both have great ventilation and refrigerators.” I cocked an eyebrow.  _ She already chose my workshop for me?  _ I almost laughed incredulously at that, but refrained.

“Do you have pictures of the rooms?” She nodded, turned it around, and handed it to me.

“These first three are from the office near your workshop, and the second three are from the office on the communal floor.” I nodded and swiped through the first three.

While the first room did have a lot of what I wanted -- the amount of light was  _ amazing  _ \-- it didn’t spark my interest. The walls were plain white, the carpet was  _ brown  _ of all things, and imagining myself working in that room made me grimace. I swiped to the next couple of pictures, my eyebrows raising in pleasant surprise at the second one. 

_ Much better. _ The room was larger than the office I currently had, and it was situated in the corner of the building so there were two walls of windows. Another picture showed there was a section of counters near the entering door with a large fridge that looked like it was a simple cabinet. The last picture was from the corner of windows, the camera pointed towards the room to show the immense amount of light and space. My fingers began to flex unconsciously, aching to get packing so that I could decorate the room. I had to shake my head to push the images of my office at home, new and improved in this room, away. I looked up and handed the STARKPad back to an interested Pepper.

“ _ That _ one, please.” Pepper took a glance down and smiled, making a note on the pad.

“ _ Great _ choice! Now, how about your room? Did you want it soundproof as well?” She had a mischievously sly grin growing on her lips and I felt my cheeks grow in a blush. 

“That’s  _ not  _ why I wanted my office  _ soundproof _ ! Oh, my  _ God _ , Pepper.” She chuckled, shaking her head goodnaturedly. 

“I’m just messing with you, Circe. You’re a grown woman. The  _ reasons  _ for what you want or don’t want for your rooms is none of my business.” I gave her an embarrassed smile, and she gave me a knowing grin. Turning back to her STARKPad, she looked through the rooms. “I have a room on Steve and Bucky’s floor, a room on an empty floor, a room down the hall from Tony’s workshop and Bruce’s lab, and a room on Tony’s floor.” I raised an eyebrow.

“I hope you don’t mind, I took notes and wrote down some questions I have regarding the contract.” She shook her head and waved her hand.

“No, no, that’s  _ completely  _ fine! I can answer whatever questions you have.” Her expression was soft but impassive, carrying only a small smile as she readied herself.

“In the contract, it states that each member residing in the Tower, with  _ ‘designated room(s)/office/workshop/laboratory/etc.,’ _ are entitled to privacy. Which I took as, don’t go into my room without permission. And then there was,  _ ‘there will be no video and/or audio recording within said areas.’ _ ” I went further down in my notes. “ _ ‘Along with the offlimit areas, certain floors are off limits for living quarters: the laboratory/workshop floors are strictly for work, and Anthony Stark’s floor.’ _ ” I looked back up at Pepper. She was nodding, but kept her impassive expression. “Why did you keep the rooms from floors that are not approved by the contract on the list of available bedrooms?” She nodded.

“That is simple: whatever you want, you shall get. If you recall, that was what Tony told me  _ explicitly  _ once I knew you were moving in. While searching for your room, I kept in those rooms due to the sole fact that they had an attached bathroom, which Tony and Bruce’s lab both have for their convenience.” I nodded, my furrowed eyebrows slowly undoing. “Tony also explicitly told me that he wanted his floor open to you, as well, due to you being his soulmate.”

“Oh.” _ Dammit. That stupid blush came back. _ Pepper was grinning at me, now, and I cleared my throat while refusing to look at her, writing down the answer to my question. “Any walk in closets? I got a lot of clothes.” 

“Yep, three of them. You can probably guess which ones.” She was laughing, now, as she added that to the list. “Next?” I huffed, my eyes moving over my journal of notes frantically. I slowly looked up at her, the blush refusing to leave my cheeks.

“Sound...proof?” 

“Same. Next?” She was smirking at me, now. Enjoying my discomfort. 

“Fuck,” I muttered, frowning. “I’ll just do the one on the empty floor.” She nodded and without hesitation, she typed it into her STARKPad. I was slightly surprised she didn’t comment on me not taking the one on Tony’s floor, but thankful that she didn’t. I was already embarrassed.

“Alright, so that room, unfortunately, does not have a kitchen inside the bedroom, but there is a communal one on that floor. But team dinners are three days every week, and most of the team eats together in the morning.” I hummed, my nose slightly scrunching up. 

I haven’t eaten breakfast or dinner with anyone for almost three years. Last time was with Wade and Weasel, and I was so awkward that I practically refused to do it again. I nodded silently. Her fingers moved quickly, and I watched until she suddenly paused, her eyes looking back up at me with a startled look.

“Did you want a library?” I blinked.  _ That was sudden _ . She blinked rapidly and backpedaled, putting a hand to her temple to rub it. “Well, we have a training room, so I assumed you could use that one after we add your training gear, but we don’t really have a  _ library _ . I completely forgot about that!” She was frowning and rambling. “As you know, most of the floors have three or four bedrooms and a communal kitchen. Tony and Loki have a few books, as do Dr. Banner, Darcy, and Dr. Foster, but they keep them on their floor in one of the spare bedrooms. But you have an actual  _ library  _ in your house. Did you want to have a library on your floor? You’ll have a living room and communal kitchen there, anyways.” 

“I mean, sure, but don’t be too worried about it. It’s not a dire need.” She shook her head firmly and typed again. I laughed, shaking my head. I had been buying books for years until I ran out of room in my library and realized I could just get a  _ library  _ card.”

“Great. Now, about your workshop.”  _ Almost forgot about that. _ She handed me the STARKPad with a grin. “After taking the tour of your home, I realized we had the perfect room available. I had FRIDAY take some pictures of it for me, as we don’t have it listed due to the amount of storage within it.” I raised an eyebrow and looked at it. 

The room was bright with LED lighting but also sunlight filtering into the room. The main thing I noticed was that three of the walls were windows  _ (though from the angle of the picture, I couldn’t see what was outside of those windows other than sunlight) _ , and the fourth held the door. The room was full of paper-filled boxes and cabinets, broken chairs and desks, and blank computer monitors. Everything in there was collecting dust, and it made me wonder why it was empty. I swiped to the side for more pictures, and was shocked to see there was a balcony connected to one of the window walls. There was a giant, empty helicopter pad at the end of the balcony, and as you got closer to the doors, there was typical balcony furniture -- a couch, a firepit, and a few umbrellas. 

“It used to be the communal room almost four years ago, but after the Hulk threw Loki around like a ragdoll and threw Tony out of the window, it was in need of reconstruction.” I looked sharply up at her, my Omega slightly angry that Loki threw Stark out of the window. It’s not like I  _ didn’t  _ know that happened. I hacked into SHIELD’s files and found out for myself days after it happened. But knowing he is my mate and could have died by my other assumed mate, set my Omega on edge. Pepper didn’t notice my change in attitude, continuing with, “The team decided to use a different area as the communal area while it was getting fixed. But they liked their new communal area much better and all decided not to move back into this one. 

“Now, it collects filed papers, broken chairs and desks, and useless objects employees either didn’t want anymore or forgot when they retired or moved to a different facility.” She shrugged, nonchalant about the amount of things in that room. “If a mission is urgent, sometimes they will use the heli-pad, but that’s been rare ever since Rhodey, Loki, Thor joined the team, permanently. Or  _ rejoined  _ where Thor’s concerned.” I raised an eyebrow in confusion.  _ He left? I mean, I know he went to Asgard, but how  _ **_did_ ** _ Loki join the Avengers? _ Pepper noticed and elaborated. “He used to go back and forth between Asgard because of Loki and his family, and the team and Dr. Foster --  _ especially  _ after his mother passed away. But after Dr. Foster found her soulmate, Thor asked a seer in Asgard when he would be able to find his mate.” Her eyes were on me, but we both kept stoic expressions. “The Seer said Loki and Thor...and a couple of  _ friends  _ shared an Omega soulmate located on Earth. Thor begged Odin to let Loki come to Earth, and he agreed. Tony wasn’t excited about it, and asked Rhodey to join the team just in case.” I raised my eyebrows in mock surprise.

“Well, I hope they find him or her.” I laughed, shaking my head. “Earth may be tiny compared to the sun and other planets, but there’s a lot of people.” She hummed but said nothing as I set the STARKPad back down on the coffee table. Without looking at her, I began writing notes in my journal  _ (one about Thor and Loki, and the others about what I could do to make my new workshop/lab awesome),  _ a couple pages after the one about the contract so that I had room to continue. “I love the room. Could totally make it my bitch -- so to speak.” 

I laughed at my joke and stopped writing so that I could continue over the contract. Pepper let out a rough laugh, but said nothing, so I ignored it. I began humming, going back to the other page and writing more notes. I could hear her typing faintly on the STARKPad, but she didn’t say anything until I reached the end of the contract.

“Done!” I looked up at her with a grin, noticing her sharp eyes were already on me. “Care to answer a few of my other questions?” She nodded, giving me a weak smile. I pretended not to notice. “I need to have Cerberus with me. Is it alright if I bring his servers along with me?” Her eyes widened in surprise, as if she had forgotten about Cerberus. 

“Oh. Of course.” She made a quick note. “All of the computers and such are connected to S.I. Servers, but we can make accommodations. Is your wifi hooked up to his servers in your workshop?” I nodded. “Okay. Yeah, it shouldn’t be a problem. Did you want FRIDAY, as well, or no?” I hummed, giving a so-so wave of my hand.

“She can be in my office, but I would rather Cerberus be in my workshop and room. FRIDAY can always tell Cerberus if I am needed.” Pepper nodded and jotted down more notes. “Alright, now...what is the deal with laundry and kitchen privileges?”

**Pictures ( _examples_ of what Circe has within her home):**

**Garden:**

**Office:**

**House Decor:**

**Workshop:**

**(Minus the cars)**

**Fashion:**

**(The dress she wore at the party in China, along with her tactical gear. That is her default outfit.)**

For more examples, feel free to look up 'Cottagecore' on Pinterest/TikTok. 


	12. "Don't Get Too Cocky, Darling; I Do Know How to Castrate."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Total Twilight Moment)
> 
> "Terms and Conditions for being mates, right?"
> 
> I already wasn't a good mother.
> 
> "Don't get too cocky, darling; I do know how to castrate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like my,  
> Maybe someday,  
> Just became my  
> Right now.
> 
> \-- Colleen Hoover

We spent the next thirty minutes going over questions I had before I decided I should probably start packing.  _ ( _ **_Finally_ ** _ , an annoyed part of me whispered -- probably my Omega being a bitch. _ **_It’s already one-thirty. End of the day, my ass, if you don’t get moving!_ ** _ ) _ Quickly signing the contract in all of the correct places, I left Pepper to make her calls to a moving company and S.I. Employees. The movers would be at my house by five, and the employees and S.I. --  _ security I guess? _ \-- would clear out my new workshop. I decided to pack the easiest room first: the kitchen.

I created boxes with my magic and began packing away the kitchenware. At first, it was all by hand, but after Pepper came down twenty minutes later and I barely had one box filled because I got distracted ordering five different types of pizza, I realized I should use my magic instead. Pepper had laughed and took most of the boxes to the living room,  _ after  _ I gave her a list of what I  _ definitely  _ wanted to bring and other vague things I  _ could  _ bring.

And so, Pepper was stuck doing everything by hand, and I did it with magic.

My kitchen emptied pretty quick after that, and I took over my bedroom, workshop/lab, and library while she handled the living room, training room, and office _ (with more lists, of course) _ . Both my workshop/lab and office were to be entirely gutted of stuff, but the other rooms didn’t have much I wanted -- a few things of furniture and wall art, here and there. 

When I finished packing, I moved the boxes to the living room and labeled them specifically. Pepper called for me a few times when she finished with her rooms, and after I made sure she got all I wanted _ (or that I didn’t forget about something) _ , I moved the boxes to the living room, as well. 

We decided on saving the plants and food for last. The food could go with the movers, but I would be taking the plants to the Tower myself. Along with  _ everything  _ from my workshop -- other than the books/scientific papers. If I did my magic correctly, I could make the inside of the van bigger without making the outside bigger, so I would only make one trip.

_ “Yes, Boss?” _ Chris’ tired voice came over my phone. I had decided to call him while I magically moved items around the house. I raised an eyebrow and pouted. 

“Why so glum, Chrissy-Poo?” He grunted, and I could immediately tell that something was wrong. Wiping the pout away from my lips, I slowed my movements. “Report, Chris.”

_ “Sorry, Boss,” _ he sighed,  _ “today hasn’t been fun. The Cyber Security department has been receiving some low-grade hacking, today.”  _ I paused in my movements.  _ “We have it handled, Boss. They have taken care of the problem three times, but they keep returning. We tracked the IP Address and the police are on their way to the source. The team and I are just stressed.”  _ I nodded, resuming my movements.  _ “What did you need, Boss?” _

“I was wondering if you could call my maid service for me and have them water my garden every time they are over?” Chris hummed, and I could hear him scribbling it down. I felt a bit bad -- Rocky was usually my go-to for secretary stuff, but Chris took over like a champ during Rocky’s vacation. “I’m taking all of my indoor plants, so they don’t need to worry about those. They can still come three times a week, if it’s easier for them, and I’ll add an extra three hundred each day for the gardens.” 

_ “Got it, Boss. I’ll give them a call before I leave tonight. Did you need anything else?”  _

“Nope. Thank you, Chris.” He replied with a  _ ‘you’re welcome, Boss,’ _ and moved to hang up, but I spoke again. “I know you are working hard, Chris. With Rocky gone on his trip, you have really stepped up to the plate, and I appreciate it much more than you realize. Going from Head of Security and Event Bodyguard to full-time secretary was a big jump, and I doubt it was easy -- especially with all of the craziness that went on these past two weeks.” He was silent, and I could tell he was puffing up with pride at his work being recognized --  _ all  _ Alphas did that. “Rocky will be back next week, and he’ll need a couple days adjusting back into the workplace, so if you could let him know everything that has happened during the month he has been away, that would be amazing. I can give you those two days off so the two of you can go over everything. Mr. Boro can take over security for a couple of days.” 

_“Yes, ma’am.”_ _Yep,_ I thought with a small grin. _He is purring with pride._

“Listen, do you or your brother, Josh, need anything?” He was silent.

“No, ma’am. We’re alright.” I hummed, not believing him. He sighed. “Josh is graduating pretty soon, so I was hoping to take the day off and be there with him.” The small grin on my face grew, and my eyes flitted over to the door as movement caught my attention. Pepper walked in gracefully, leading the movers into the packed living room.  _ They’re early, _ I noted, glancing at the clock that read four-thirty.

“That’s great, Chris! Of course you can have the day off.” 

_ “Thank you, Boss.” _ He was silent, again. _ “Boss, may I speak freely?” _ Surprise filled me.

“Of course, Chris. Give me a quick second.” I looked towards the movers and Pepper, all of them looking to me. “Can you load all of the furniture we have here, first? And then the boxes.” They nodded and the main man began ordering the other six around. They had brought three, giant moving trucks, and I was positive everything we had in the living room would fit. “Pep, I need to talk to Chris. I’ll be right back. Can you watch over them for me?” Pepper nodded vigorously, grabbing a few of the boxes.

“Of course. Take your time!” I was surprised she answered. Pepper had been quiet for a while, but I didn’t blame her -- I was running low on fumes and had already packed my coffee machines away! I walked into the kitchen, taking in the lack of hanging pots and pans, and empty cabinets that were usually full to the brim.

“Alright, Chris, what’s wrong?” 

Chris and I had been friends -- colleagues, boss/employee -- for almost four years. When I had first started up my company five years prior, I had the money to build it, but no board members or employees. I found board members that I liked, first, and moved onto finding a secretary -- which was Rocky, fresh out of college and looking for a well-paying job. Employees were easy to come by, but the security department consisted solely of four older security guards and myself. It was fine, at first, as we were just a small company, but as we expanded and got bigger buildings and more employees, I couldn’t handle all of them. I stumbled upon Chris three months after he finished a five year contract with the Marines and, after we spoke about a multitude of subjects, I hired him. 

He worked up to Head Security Guard, and was a great judge of character. He mostly hired former military members -- most being Omegas or Gammas that were given boring jobs in the military due to their second gender -- and gained much loyalty. Each building had a Head Security Guard that he personally trained, and they all reported to him daily about situations that occurred at their building. Most of the time, it consisted of jokes and boring days, but sometimes, there were instances with employees arguing or civilians trying to come in and snoop around.

Chris was one of the few people I trusted with my life, and I considered him one of my closest friends -- along with Rocky and Cerberus (even though he was virtual). 

_ “Josh and I hit a rough patch last week.”  _ I raised an eyebrow, surprised. Chris and Josh were close as children, though they drifted apart during Chris’ deployment. When Chris got a job in New York, Josh immediately came for college. I helped pay a little bit of it -- mostly for food and books -- and when he decided he wanted to move out of Chris’ apartment, I helped them find a relatively cheap one close to his school.  _ “He wants to be a history teacher, but that isn’t a high paying job, and I don’t want him to work an extra job to support himself. Accounting was his major, so why couldn’t he do accounting or something? Help people with their taxes or something. Why  _ **_teaching_ ** _?” _ Chris sighed, and I imagined he was running a hand through his hair.  _ “I don’t want him to work paycheck to paycheck, but I don’t want him to depend on others, either. He can depend on me, because I’m his brother, but not anyone else.”  _

“Ah, I see. You are referring to how I helped out with the apartment.”

_ “N-No, I didn’t mean it like that, Boss-,” _ he was growing a bit panicked, but I just chuckled, shaking my head. 

“It  _ is  _ what you meant, and that’s okay, Chris. I’m not  _ mad _ .” He was quiet. “From what I have learned over my many,  _ many  _ years being alive, following a dream is the best thing a person can do. For most people, it’s finding their soulmate and starting a family, but for others, it’s obtaining a career they enjoy doing and living their life in the way they want. Every time I met him, Josh had been that way. He doesn't want to find a soulmate, just finish college and figure out what he wanted to do.” I paused, thinking of my next couple of words. “If he thinks teaching history is something he really wants to do, then he should. Life is too short to not follow your dream. And I would tell you the same thing if you wanted to quit being a security guard and become a painter. Asking people for help when you need it isn’t bad, Chris; tricking people into doing so when you don’t actually need their help,  _ is _ .” Chris sighed.

_ “You’re right. If it’s what he wants to do, then he should. I shouldn't’ hold him back from what he wants to do.” _ I nodded.

“And if he really does need a second job, Chris, he’ll have the accounting degree, right? He could work online after school, or find a summer job to support himself. There are so many different ways he could use the accounting degree, and once he gets experience, it will only be better.” Chris sighed again, and I could tell I wore him down. “Don’t worry too much, Chris. You’ll get grey hairs before you hit thirty.” He snorted.

_ “Yeah, yeah, Circe.” _ I could hear the smile in his voice.  _ “Thank you, Circe.” _ I hummed.

“No problem, Chrissy-Poo.” I chuckled. “I’ll talk to you later.” He hummed and said his  _ ‘goodbyes’  _ before hanging up. I put the phone back in my pocket and turned on my heel, shaking my head as I made my way back into the living room.

~+~+~+~ 

It took a couple hours for them to finish, but the movers were taking great care with my wall art and boxes that said “ **FRAGILE** ,” so I couldn’t really complain. When they had finished the packing, Pepper made a call to Stark while I packed my food away, throwing a few things away because of how old they were. I went ahead and put the boxes and insulated bags of food into the last moving van before they left, rambling away to Pepper about my job. It was getting closer to seven and I kind of felt bad -- I  _ did  _ say end of the day, but it sure felt like the end of the day and I still had to grab my  _ plants _ ! 

“Hey, Circe?” Pepper began when we finished grabbing the plants from my workshop/lab and office, carefully placing them in the van. “You know how you let me pack your office?” 

“Yeah?” I grinned at her. “Thanks for that, by the way. It must have been a lot, and I don’t know how you managed putting that pagoda fountain in a box.” I laughed lightly, walking past her and into the house, the woman following after me. She had also packed all of my incense, candles, and sage away with practiced ease, and brought the cabinet and bookcase down without a fuss -- at separate times, of course.  _ Pretty impressive Beta strength _ . “That was pretty heavy. And the cabinet was, too. Well, both were light for me, but I’ve put that pagoda on tables before and it’s broken them completely. Like in  _ half _ -,” she placed a hand on my shoulder, bringing me to a stop in both words and pace.

“Circe, it’s not about that.” Her tone was worried and guilty. I hummed, raising an eyebrow. She took in a deep breath and shifted on her feet. “I was packing away your books in the office, and I was going a bit too fast, and one fell.” A slight feeling of dread filled me. _ I know where this is going. _ “I went to pick it up and I started reading it. It was one of your journals, and it was really personal. I know I shouldn’t have done that, and I’m  _ so  _ sorry.” I licked my lips.

“Which one?” She grimaced and told me the number listed on the side binding. “Ah. Number six. Started April 1996; a year after I left HYDRA. Ended July 1996.” She nodded, a shameful look on her face. “How much did you read?” She wouldn’t look at me.

“The third entry that was written for April. An Alpha from HYDRA found you; one of the ones that hurt you. His face brought you back to when you were held by HYDRA, and you blacked out. When you came out of it, you realized you killed him, and you cried. You felt like you were no better than them.” She looked up at me, wiping her hands on her jeans. “That’s all I got to when I realized I shouldn’t have read it and placed it back.” I sighed, moving forward and wrapping my arms around her. Pepper was tense, but I didn’t mind it. 

“No wonder you were quiet after packing up the office. It’s okay, Pep. I’m not mad that you read it; that happened nineteen years ago. They carry no hold over me. Not anymore.” She sighed in relief, wrapping her arms around me in response to my hug. After a couple moments, I leaned back and looked into her eyes. “Once I broke free of HYDRA, my mind was broken. And most days, so was my soul. I had nightmares that didn’t go away, I couldn’t eat without puking, I had flashbacks no matter what I was doing at the time, and I just...wanted to die. But every time I tried, I came back, and I felt worse every time.” I felt the familiar feeling of dread and sorrow grow in my chest. I took a deep breath. With the nose purifier out, I could smell Pepper’s calming scent. “I couldn’t deal with it because I was weak.

“A man saw me on the street one day. He was a psychologist; said he knew the signs of someone having PTSD flashbacks.” I held her hands, rubbing my fingers over her hand. “He gave me a journal. It was his own, but he only used it once. Told me to write everything down, no matter what order the flashbacks came to me in, and when I was finished, take the paper out and burn it. Because no matter what, I was stronger than I thought, and I could beat the nightmares, the hunger pains, and everything else if I put my mind to it. I heard they have medicine now for PTSD -- or at least for the milder version of it. Too bad they burn right through me, huh?” I chuckled and gave her a bitterly amused grin. She pursed her lips tightly together, holding back tears. I sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. “As you can see, the only thing I  _ didn’t  _ do was burn them. I wanted ammunition; I wanted to look back on what I wrote and feel a burning rage so that when I saw HYDRA Agents or came across a base, I would kill all of them and not feel guilty about it. Because they made a choice without thinking of the consequences. They  _ chose  _ to be agents with the knowledge they would have to hurt innocent people. So  _ I  _ became their consequence.” Her eyes were misty with tears, and I hugged her again. “One day, though, HYDRA will be nothing but ash and I will be able to burn those books. Put the past far behind me, where it should be.”

Pepper began sobbing into my shoulder, unable to hold it in. I stood there, rubbing her back and muttering reassurances. I told her about how I hadn’t blacked out in ten years, had friends that cared about me _ (that I cared about back) _ , and had inventions that protected Omegas just like me from those that could abuse them. I told her about everything good that was happening in my life, and laughing about ones that were slowly entering it  _ (Stark, mostly) _ . 

Soon enough, she stopped crying and held onto me. After a couple more reassurances that everything was fine, and it was in the past, she began helping me grab the rest of the indoor plants from around the house. I complained constantly about them. ( _ “Why the fuck do I have so many plants? And what the hell are  _ **_succulents_ ** _?”  _ **_To which Pepper replied,_ ** _ “They’re a type of cactus. How do you not know that? You have over twenty!”  _ **_To which I replied_ ** _ , “I don’t know, Pepper. Do I even  _ **_like_ ** _ cacti, cause I have no idea why they are here? It certainly didn’t feel like I had this many plants when I brought them home! Fucking Lowes and plant nursery workers. Obviously, they know a sucker when they see one!” _ ) Pepper was laughing by the time we were actually able to leave, the last thing going into the van being the servers from the workshop  _ (which I levitated out onto the helipad) _ . 

I indulged her whining and let her pilot the van for a bit, and then drive as we wanted coffee -- but I piloted it when we went to the Tower so that we didn’t hit a building or miss the helipad. Soon, I had her singing along to the radio with me, and in the end, I felt we had grown much closer over the journal incident. It had taken us a while to get here, considering the servers were weighing the car down, and I liked that the lights in the office were bright at nine o’clock. Though the large amount of boxes in there made my bones feel weary. But my poor Cerberus was down for the count until I could turn the servers on and reboot him, so I wanted to get that done before bedtime, at least.  _ (Plus, I was running on no sleep for over forty hours.)  _

“Why don’t you keep those books locked up?” Pepper asked after a short moment of silence as we landed on the heli-pad. 

“Well, my house  _ is  _ the lock.” She raised an eyebrow and I turned off the car, sitting with her for a moment of peace and quiet. “Let’s just say the wall around my house has extensive security measures. And anyone that manages to actually break into my house, wouldn’t survive the inside.” I grinned at her slightly perturbed expression. “Of course, I’ll have to actually lock them up -- quite extensively, considering the amount of spies within the Tower.” She grimaced and we both got out of the van. She met me around the back, stifling a yawn. 

“I won’t lie, Nat and Buck snoop through things they shouldn’t, especially when a new person comes to live at the Tower -- Clint and Fury do, too, but they keep whatever they find quiet. I’ve noticed Nat and Bucky tend to allude to things they find out. Most of the time, it’s just looks and dropping of names.” A frown tugged at my lips.  _ I would need a better locking system, then. Who knows who else will snoop through my things? _ “Of course, it goes against their contracts, but Tony hasn’t done anything about it. I think he doesn’t comment on it because he knows snooping calms them. They have this need to make sure no one is hiding important secrets from the team -- in the instance that the person moving into the Tower is a secret terrorist or something.” She paused in her rambling, looking at me with a defensive stance. “Which they still  _ shouldn’t  _ do, and I would not defend their right to snoop, but unless Tony explicitly tells them to stop, or myself to do anything about it, my hands are tied.” I grimaced, sighing as I thought about things I would have to hide in walls or something. “Circe-,” she placed a hand on my shoulder, “-if they do that with you, and you catch them in person or on camera, feel free to tell me. They know not to do that, and while Steve and Tony would be hesitant to kick them off the team, they could pull their passes to your floor, office, and workshop. Plus, you’d probably be allowed to set up traps to protect your items. You have rights, here, and anyone that goes against it should receive the consequences.” I nodded, grinning at her.

“You’re gonna regret saying that, Pep. I’m  _ so  _ gonna fuck with them, now.” She laughed lightly and I turned back to the van, pulling open the backdoors. She sighed at seeing the amount of plants, boxes, and servers I had.  _ (The van was extended magically, so we were able to fit everything I wanted into it.)  _ “The renovating is something I gotta do on my own, Pep, so if you want to head on in and sleep, that’s fine by me.” She hesitated, looking at me with concern. 

“Are you sure? I think it’s only right that I help.” I gave her a gentle smile, nodding as I wrapped my arms around her in a hug.

“You’ve had a tough day, dealing with me. Best to sleep before you can’t get up tomorrow morning.” She sighed but nodded anyways, hugging me tightly. 

“Give me a call if you need anything. I’m taking tomorrow off, so leave some for me to do.” She let go, slowly backing away towards the Tower. I laughed, waving her off.

“Yes, ma’am!” She nodded, pointing a finger-gun at me with a grin and pretending to shoot. I put a hand to my chest and flinched back dramatically, my body leaning against the van doors. She snorted and with a roll of her eyes, went into the building and towards the door. I shook my head with a low laugh and waved my hand, pulling out the servers one by one.

“Oh!” I peered around the van, watching her come back to the balcony door, leaning against it. “I forgot to tell you. The guys -- Tony, Rhodey, Thor, and Peter -- brought up your stuff. Tony texted me a bit ago and said he left your new keys and ID card on one of the tables for you.” She began rambling. “Steve and Bucky went out for a small mission (a recon one or something), Natasha and Clint took Darcy on a date so they’ll be back late, Jane and Bruce are both on work binges, and I’m unsure what Loki and Pietro are doing. Or anyone else for that matter.  _ Anyways _ , I’ll leave you to it. Good night.”

“Night, Pepperoni!” I laughed as I heard her distant grumbling. 

I turned back to the servers with a sigh, grabbing a new box of nose purifiers from my jacket pocket and putting one in. Pepper’s scent was doused significantly and I sighed, my anxious nerves calming slightly. Cracking my neck, I held out my hands, focusing my magic onto lifting the servers. They followed easily, and I went ahead and walked them to my new workshop, smelling dust and stale air. As the room was pretty big, the boxes labeled “ **WORKSHOP** ” in my messy scrawl were placed on one side of the room, closer to the balcony door. The furniture  _ (also labeled boldly on reinforced sticky notes) _ was placed in the center of the room and carried items I was  _ positive  _ I had not brought with me. I placed the servers near the actual wall, on the left side of the door when walking in, and put a significant amount of space between them so that they took up the entire half of the wall. After I finished plugging them in with an extensive, multi-outlet extension cord, I stepped back and admired my work.

Hopefully, no one would come in and throw liquids on them. 

Or another attack on the Tower.  _ That  _ would be a bummer.

While it was rebooting, I took inventory of the basic furniture someone placed in the room, along with my own: three metal tables  _ (one with a set of keys and ID card) _ , a few rolling chairs, my long couch from my old workshop, my many tool cabinets, herbal “bookcase,” a bin full of scrap metals and organized boxes of nails/screws/etc., and my long wooden table that I almost had to make a second trip for. There were a few new computers still in their boxes, but I was unsure if I wanted to open them up just yet, along with three of the newest STARKPads. I hummed, unimpressed with the metal tables, and moved one of them to stand against the window three feet away from the servers. I went back to the van and grabbed the box I knew had my computer monitors and electronics within it. 

Once my three monitors, keyboard, and tablets were set up on the table, I was able to get Cerberus fully back online by eleven o’clock.

_ “Good evening, Boss,” _ Cerberus greeted once I called his designated phone number and placed him on speaker.  _ “I have been told to inform you, via FRIDAY, that the awake Avengers -- meaning Mr. Stark, Dr. Banner, and Mr. Parker -- have been notified of your arrival, via Ms. Potts, and would like to speak with you when you have time.”  _ I snorted, unsurprised.  _ “Along with that, Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes are set to arrive tomorrow morning around nine o’clock, and Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barton have an estimated arrival time of three hours.” _ I rolled my eyes and began moving the tables around -- one on the right side and one on the left side of the room. 

“I knew that, Cerb, but thank you.” He hummed in response, equally unimpressed. I grabbed a few of the boxes and sliced them open, seeing the books and papers I knew would be in there. “Well. It seems I need bookshelves, Cerb. Care to order a few? Like my previous ones.” 

_ “Of course, Boss.” _ I thanked him and moved the boxes under the first table with the monitors, going back to grab more boxes. I couldn’t bring the bookcases under my tables due to them being built into the wall.  _ “There seems to be an error with FRIDAY, Boss. She is insisting that anything you would like to purchase go through her first.” _ I straightened, raising an eyebrow. Pepper never said anything about that.  _ “It appears, however, that it is solely due to Mr. Stark’s genetic need to provide for his Omega and not because they want to monitor your purchases, or think you do not have enough money. The Alphas of the team decided this last week upon kidnapping you.” _ I sighed and rubbed my temple.  _ Alphas _ . 

“I don’t want to deal with this right now, so just send it through her, but keep track of the amounts. I want receipts for when I pay him back secretly.” 

_ “Yes, ma’am.” _

Half of the boxes consisted of science books and theses, so they went under the table  _ (like my previous workshop) _ , but when it was full, I began moving the furniture around instead. Using my magic, I moved the herbal bookcase to stand against the wall, missing the door by four inches.  _ (Thankfully, the lightswitch was on the server side of the wall.) _ I moved my wooden table to be five feet away from the bookcase and began unboxing my little factory boxes. Soon enough, one end of the table was full of glass vials and such, and the rest of the table was filled with the original laboratory potted plants.

Putting the other two tables together, seven feet from my wooden one, I set up my standard workstation: scrap metals and wires scattered on one half of the first table, blueprints for the Magic Eight Ball on the second half, and everything else on the second table. The tool cabinets went up against the wall of windows, but the table and cabinets barely covered the entire wall -- there was a still good four feet of space that I needed to fill. I went through a couple more boxes, as they held my other inventions, and I had Cerberus  _ (or FRIDAY, rather) _ order clear display cases to fit in that four feet of space. I placed the boxes in the spot so I would remember, and moved the rolling chairs to sit at my two workshop tables.

The rest of the boxes, placed by the Alphas, carried more reference books, and one unspecified one held the two blankets and pillow I previously had on the couch. I laughed and shook my head, a sudden wave of exhaustion coming over me. I placed them on the couch and moved it to sit near the balcony door, looking out over the city, before I grabbed the rest of the items from the van. I placed the remaining workshop boxes on the floor in the building, along with the rest of the plants I wouldn’t be able to get through. Only when my van was empty and locked tightly, I locked the balcony doors, turned off the light, and hobbled my way back to the couch. I couldn’t see the stars, and in the morning, the sun would be right on my face, but right now? I was content and exhausted enough to pass out the second I closed my eyes. 

At one point during the night, I woke to someone entering the room. Cerberus had still been on the other line, so with the phone plugged in to remain charged, he would be able to last through the night. Seeing as he didn’t sound an alarm, I didn’t make a fuss, even as they stood next to the couch and watched me sleep for a few moments. _ (Total Twilight moment.)  _ A warm, calloused hand caressed my cheek and I unconsciously leaned into it, the tingles and butterflies signalling the mate bond. When I breathed, I couldn’t smell their scent due to the purifier, but it didn’t matter -- I fell back asleep, the warmth leaving a few moments after I did so.

~+~+~+~

_ “Boss, Miss Potts has informed me that she will be at the Tower by eight this morning.” _ Cerberus’ voice startled me out of my sleep, my eyes flying open and a groan leaving my lips. _ “It is currently six, meeting your set requirement of six hours of sleep between work days. Perhaps you should wake up in order to get ready for her arrival.” _ I took a deep breath and rubbed my eyes, looking around the room sleepily. I was still in my new workshop, sleeping on the couch. The windows were tinted to allow in minimal sunlight  _ (though it was mostly dark outside) _ , and the room felt off.  _ “Along with hiding anything certain Avengers would  _ **_look through_ ** _ without properly asking.”  _ I huffed and stretched on the couch before standing. 

“Morning, Cerb,” I muttered, rubbing at my eyes. “What happened with the windows?” I reached under the pillow and grabbed my phone, pressing the home button. I blinked.  _ Cerberus wasn’t...on my phone? _ Slowly, the windows began to let in the dim light, and the LED lights in the ceiling turned on. “Ah! Shit!” I covered my eyes to shield them from the harsh light, my eyes sending a flash of pain through my temples.

_ “Apologies, Boss.” _ I gasped, my head snapping up. In the middle of the ceiling, there was a black dome like a ceiling light, one I hadn’t noticed the previous day. The dome was composed of cameras and speakers, along with more speakers drilled into the corners of the room.  _ “I did not mean to startle you.” _ I let out an incredulous laugh, staring up at the dome Cerberus was speaking through. 

“Cerberus, how did you get up there?” 

_ “Mr. Stark came in last night after you fell asleep, hoping to speak with you.” _ My eyebrows raised and I tried to think back to the previous night. I  _ had  _ felt someone near me, but I was so tired, I completely ignored it.  _ I mean...I would come back to life anyways, if it  _ **_was_ ** _ an assassin that came with the explicit motive to kill me. _ I grimaced.  _ “Instead, Mr. Stark decided to let you sleep and programmed me into the original AI domes, along with a few domes in communal areas in case you needed me. Apparently, when you started me up, you forgot to log out of my servers. Because of that, he did not need my passwords, which I would find worrisome if I did not know the reasons behind the actions. I am now able to perform the same functions I used to at our previous residence.  _ **_Without_ ** _ the weapons of mass destruction at my disposal, unfortunately. I am surprised you did not wake up. He made  _ **_quite_ ** _ a ruckus.”  _ My heart stuttered in my chest, and I didn’t know whether to laugh at Cerberus’ blatant forlorn tone, or blush like a schoolgirl. __

_ Why do I find him programming Cerberus into everything so...sweet? And considerate?  _ I shuddered, the sappy emotions making me awkward and tense. _ It was kind of him, for sure, but how do I respond? No one has really gone out of their way to do something for me, unless it was for work. Is this one of the “extravagant gifts” Pepper was telling me about? Do I give him something back?  _ I huffed at myself.  _ God dammit. _

“That was nice of him,” I settled on saying, my tone a little shaky with uncertainty. “Did you thank him politely?” Cerberus was quiet. 

_ “Of  _ **_course_ ** _ I did.” _ If he could have sniffed haughtily, I had no doubt that he would have. I snorted.  _ “I thanked him for placing me in the AI domes, and then promised ruthless consequences should he or any of his  _ **_cronies_ ** _ try to hack my servers. Apparently, my threats did not frighten him as he had the  _ **_audacity_ ** _ to laugh.”  _ I folded the blanket with a grin. 

I began moving around the room, trying to see if anything was misplaced. A few things on my tables were moved, but other than that, nothing much was changed. Other than the amount of bookcases, mini-fridges, and boxes of new products with royal blue bows on top, and --  _ wait, what? _ I stepped forward, running my fingers over some of the boxes.  _ What the hell? _

_ “Ah, yes. Seeing as the other Avengers were either worried about waking you or otherwise occupied, Mr. Stark brought it in by himself, as well.”  _ I sighed, becoming overwhelmed with the amount of new objects in the room. 

_ How could I sleep through all of this? _ I ran a hand through my hair, a new sense of worry filling me.  _ If I could sleep through this, what if I slept through someone trying to look through my things, or kill me?  _ I shook that thought away.  _ No, Cerberus would sound an alarm -- a very loud alarm, now, considering the new dome area he was in -- and I would wake up in time to stop it.  _

_ “Mr. Stark explained everything to me once he was well away in order to not wake you. There is an unwritten... _ **_tradition_ ** _ , so to say, within the Tower.”  _ The overwhelmed feeling overcame me once again, and I felt anxiety curl within my chest. _ “When a new Avenger, Scientist, or soulmate moves in, the Avengers chip in and buy ‘house-warming’ gifts. Using certain photos Ms. Potts sent to the Avengers for examples, the Avengers ordered items they thought you would like -- a few begrudgingly following through.” _ I reached out and grabbed onto one of the rolling chairs, taking a deep, shaky breath to calm myself, removing the purifier with one swipe of my hand. With the anxiety in my chest, my breathing came out harsher and faster. 

Closing my eyes, I leaned forward and put my head between my knees. I took in the familiar yet faint scent of Stark, and felt my pounding heart slowly begin to calm, and the anxiety slowly begin to seep from my veins. There were slight scents I didn’t recognize due to the purifier, but they were too faint, so I didn’t focus on them. I ran a shaking hand through my unruly royal blue hair, throwing it up in a messy bun to get it out of the way, as I riffled through my complex, battling emotions. Moving to stand up, I shook my body and stretched my muscles in an effort to release the shaking tension.

“Sorry, Cerberus,” I muttered, stuck between clenching and unclenching my jaw.

_ “Everything is alright, Boss,” _ Cerberus said calmly.  _ “I have known for a long time that gifts are not your forte. I have checked them over, and am confident in saying they are not the type of gifts you are worried about.” _ I nodded, my eyes shifting over the pile of unopened boxes.  _ “Perhaps getting ready will help calm you? They can always be looked at later.” _

“Yeah, okay, let’s do that, Cerb.” I grabbed my phone and the set of keys and ID, placing them in the back pocket of the jeans I was still wearing. “I don’t want to run into any Avengers, Cerb, so where do I go?” He was silent as I walked to the door, searching for the team. I opened the door and looked around the hallway. Seeing no one, I shut the door tight and locked it, the keys jingling rather loudly in the silent hallway. My phone beeped and I pulled it out, seeing Cerberus calling it.

_ “Ms. Romanoff, Ms. Lewis and Mr. Barton are asleep on the floor above yours.” _ I grimaced.  _ Pepper didn’t say anything about them being the floor above my own! _ Cerberus didn’t notice my silence. “ _ Mr. Rogers and Mr. Barnes have yet to arrive from their mission, Dr. Foster and Dr. Banner are both in their designated laboratories -- Dr. Foster’s being in this very hallway.” _ I hummed, moving down the hallways towards the elevator, spotting a seperate door that vibrated with the bass of music. I pressed the elevator button with my free hand and waited patiently.  _ “Mr. Odinson and Mr. Laufeyson are both asleep, though FRIDAY tells me they tend to awaken around seven. Mr. Parker and the Maximoffs are asleep in their rooms, and both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Rhodes are awake in the communal living room near your office. Mr. Stark is in his workshop working on a project with Vision.” _ The elevator doors opened and I stepped in, sliding my ID Card through the scanner and pressing the button to my floor. As the elevator doors closed, the sudden worry for Stark’s sleeping and eating habits hit me.

“Has he…,” I trailed off, shifting slightly as I thought of what to ask, “slept since programming you?” The elevator jostled a bit as it moved, and I glanced over to the plaque on the wall to check the weight limit --  **“1 US TON.”**

_ “No, Boss. Mr. Stark entered your workshop around two thirty-eight this morning, and left around five forty when FRIDAY informed him Vision was ready to work. Within the past forty-eight hours, Mr. Stark has slept for eight of them and has eaten two meals under the watchful eyes of Mr. Rogers and Mr. Rhodes.” _ I nodded, the worry dissipating slightly. I doubted it would fully go away until I saw him sleeping or eating with my own eyes.  _ Ugh,  _ **_Omegas_ ** _.  _

The elevator doors opened with a high-pitched ‘ding’ and I stepped out, eyeing the hallway with curious eyes. The lights slowly turned on, and I looked around with curious eyes.

The hallway felt like an apartment building’s corridor where the doors to certain rooms were located. While this hallway was spacious, it seemed to have twists and turns. The first room I came across was a large communal living room connected to an even larger kitchen. My kitchen boxes were mostly sitting on the counters, but the insulated bags that had carried my food -- whether it be vegetables/fruits or boxed goodies -- were hanging up on the pantry doorknob. My new living room contained all of the miscellaneous boxes and furniture -- meaning, everything I wanted to bring that was laying around the house, but didn’t want in my bedroom or office -- and I could see a standard STARKTelevision similar to the one residing in the previous Tower room I was in. 

I continued down the hallway, opening up doors as I didn’t know where my bedroom was supposed to be, and stumbled upon the room that was intended to be the library  _ (I guess) _ . The bed, dresser, and television had been moved out, but in their places were tall, wide, black-wooded bookcases in immaculate shape. They were much different compared to the ones Stark had brought into my workshop -- though to be fair, those ones were supposed to be smaller but longer. The numerous boxes of books were laid around the room, along with a rug and furniture I had brought. There was no bathroom connected to the room, but there was a closet I didn’t bother looking at as I continued down the hall. 

I made it to the last door and pushed it open, a pleasantly surprised “huh” leaving my lips. While the room was plain white, it was rather big and had many windows. They were dimmed down, just like in the workshop, but the tower was high enough that I wouldn’t be too worried about someone looking in. Boxes and furniture were piled around the room, many sitting on top of each other, and the ones I had labeled as  **“BED SHEETS”** were broken down and leaning against the wall to add room for others. My new bed was the same King Sized bed I previously had, so the sheets and blankets were either on it or folded on top of it. 

A slight twist of dread filled my stomach as I looked through the broken down boxes to see if they had opened things they shouldn’t have. Thankfully, the box I was worried about was not there, and the dread quickly went away. Stepping over and around the many boxes and furniture, I made my way to the bathroom and closet area. My  **“CLOTHES”** boxes were piled neatly within the walk-in closet, and the  **“BATHROOM”** boxes were placed on the bathroom counter. I sighed  _ (I really didn’t want to unbox stuff) _ and began unboxing the bathroom items -- most of them containing bottles going into the shower and other items going into the drawers -- before rifling through my clothes. 

Twenty minutes later, I began taking a shower. Five minutes in, Cerberus spoke.

_ “Boss,” _ he began slowly,  _ “you have a visitor.”  _

My blood went cold and I could feel my stomach rolling with unease. This was how some of my nightmares started, my mind taking me back to the first time I had a warm shower. The motel smelled strongly of cigarettes and a gang of bikers sat outside laughing, but I felt safe enough to allow myself a five minute, scalding hot shower to wash away all of my stress. In reality, nothing had happened -- I took a shower, got dressed, and went on the road within twenty minutes -- but in my nightmares, everything went wrong. First, there would be gunshots and screams. I would feel a surge of panic and fear, jump out of the shower and barely have enough time to grab my gun from the counter before someone broke down the motel door. I would sit naked in the tub, pointing my gun at the door and listening to the sound of multiple footsteps. 

On good nights, only a couple HYDRA agents dressed in black would appear, breaking the door with loud shouts as a gun war began. On bad nights, my father would walk through the door, my gun would drop from my shaking hands, and I would be unable to fight back as he beat me into submission. Most days, I woke up screaming; others, I woke up suicidal. 

_ “Boss?” _ Cerberus’ concerned voice brought me out of my memories, and I turned up the water, more steam filling the room as my skin turned pink.  _ “Are you alright?” _ I took in a shaky breath and sat down on the tiled shower floor, pulling my legs up to cover the important parts while inwardly cursing about not bringing a knife or gun in with me. 

“Y-Yes, I’m fine,” I stuttered out in a low voice, licking my lips. “Who is it?” Straining my ears, I could hear the faint footsteps of someone getting closer to my bedroom over the pounding of the water. Cerberus wasted no time in answering.

_ “It is only Mr. Stark, Boss.” _ I almost breathed a sigh of relief.  _ “I have informed him you were showering, and he said he would wait for you to finish. It appears that being in your presence for three hours this morning was not enough.” _ Cerberus went silent, and I heard someone mumbling from outside of the bathroom.  _ “He is stubbornly refusing to wait in the living room. As your scent is strongest in your bedroom, he is waiting there. The door to the bathroom is locked, and your clothes are next to sink, Boss.” _

“Okay,” I breathed, nodding once. Licking my lips, I shakily made it to my feet, barely getting all of the soap off before turning off the water. 

I stepped out of the shower stall, drying off and dressing in comfortable clothes -- consisting of black leggings and sweatshirt. I rubbed at my hair, trying to dry it before giving up. With a sigh, I threw it up in a tangled bun and brushed my teeth, taking my time while trying to figure out my game-plan. My Omega would come up once I smelt his scent -- which would inevitably happen, considering I didn’t put extra nose purifiers in my bathroom boxes -- and would want to mark him, and then complete the bond; show everyone he was  _ mine _ . 

A frown tugged at my lips. I wouldn’t be able to go through with it with my PTSD. I could barely handle being in a room with more than three Alphas -- it had jumped from two Alphas four months ago, when I had to kill an incredibly smart Gamma with three Alpha bodyguards. And with all of the  _ sexual  _ abuse…

“Circe?” Stark’s muffled voice asked from outside of the bathroom door, making my heart jump and a cough slip from my mouth. He rapped his knuckles against the door twice, the sound loud in the giant bathroom. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah, fine, Stark,” I muttered, my cheeks staining with an embarrassed flush. I had been staring into one spot for a while, white toothpaste foam staining my lips. Quickly, I rinsed my mouth and collected myself, unlocking the door and opening it. Stark was standing there, almost pressed against the door, and when I opened it, he took one moment to look at me and another to wrap his arms around me. 

His arms were wrapped tightly around my waist, and his head was nuzzled into my left shoulder, his face pressed into both the fabric of my sweatshirt and the skin of my neck. He was breathing heavily, taking in my scent and slowly relaxing. I sighed and wrapped my own arms around him, finally breathing in his scent. He smelled like he did at the HYDRA base -- expensive cologne, sandalwood, and a  _ very-present  _ smell of motor oil -- and it made my tense body relax in his hold. My Omega reared up in my head, scratching at the surface as she ached to be closer to him. We stood there for a few moments, taking in each other’s scents. 

“How are you still alive?” Stark whispered, the sharp beard on his face rubbing against my neck. His scent became distressed, and it made a low growl escape from my lips. “You  _ fell  _ from the  _ jet;  _ forty-two  _ thousand  _ feet. And then you were just...gone. I couldn’t see you, and I was so  _ scared _ .” His voice became choked and he leaned back, his hands moving to cup my face and wet eyes searching my face. His brown eyes had dimmed to a black, and looked so broken that it tugged at my heart, making it hard to breathe. “ _ How _ ?” 

“Magic,” I muttered, thoughtlessly revealing one of my bigger secrets. Stark furrowed his eyebrows, the sad frown still present on his face. My body wanted to tense when I realized what I said, but with his calming and still-distressed scent wrapped around me, it couldn’t.

“He was right?” The familiar calloused fingers cupping my cheeks rubbed against my cheekbones and corners of my mouth, Stark’s now-awed eyes looking over my face. “Loki said...said you had magic wrapped around you. To protect you from the plant.” A dark look took over both of our faces as I remembered my promise to commit plant genocide. I nodded stiffly. He blinked, looking back into my eyes with the familiar awed look. “So you’re like Loki?” 

“Similar, yes,” I muttered in response, shrugging. “More like Loki  _ and  _ Thor, but semantics.” He blinked at me and I huffed, moving back into his arms and resting my head against his shoulder. While Stark was one of the shorter Avengers, I liked that he was still taller than me -- but only by an inch or two. Stark silently rubbed his hand over my back, and I could almost hear the many questions rolling around his brain. 

“You didn’t sleep in your bed,” he muttered moments later. I nodded once, rubbing my cheek against the soft fabric of his shirt. 

It was silent again -- but more of a comfortable silence rather than an awkward one. I was getting ready to pull away -- my stomach was starting to ache for food, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before it growled and embarrassed me -- when Stark suddenly cleared his throat and ceased rubbing my back. _ (Which sucked, cause that was nice.) _

“Circe…,” Stark began, his tone different, “we need to talk.” I cocked my head and leaned back, raising an eyebrow. He sounded hesitant and nervous, and dread tugged at my stomach.  _ Is he going to tell me about the others being my mate? Or that he didn’t want to be my mate?  _ Both thoughts worried me immensely, and I felt my stomach roll in a completely different way than before. I hummed, pulling away from his arms while keeping my expression stoic. 

“Terms and conditions for being mates, right?” I didn’t wait for him to respond, walking towards my bedroom door. “I assumed you would want to have a contract or something equally legally binding, so we can go over it in the kitchen or in a conference room, considering my office isn’t up to par, yet.” I was halfway down the hallway when he grabbed my arm, his calloused hand wrapping around my forearm and gently tugging me back towards him. I allowed my body to stop and turned to him. He was frowning, eyes confused and taken aback.

“No, no,” he said, sounding almost offended, “I would never have you sign something like that. We’re soulmates -- we don’t need to be legally bound through  _ contracts _ .” A thought passed through his mind and he tensed, moving his hand down my forearm and to my own hand, a line of tingling following. “Unless you would...would  _ prefer  _ that. I can get something drawn up quickly, if you want.” I frowned but shook my head, my body relaxing slightly. He nodded, relaxing just as slowly as I did. “I thought we could just... _ say _ what we would like to have in this relationship and all that ‘communication is key for a healthy relationship’ stuff.” I let out a huff of laughter, smiling and shaking my head in amusement at his choice of words. Stark smirked, almost preening at making me laugh -- since it was something I didn’t tend to do with him.

“Okay,” I drawled, tightening my hold on his hands while I thought about what I would want in a relationship, “I want to go on at least two dates before we mate, preferably to a movie or something equally modern.” I looked at him, taking note of how his body language changed immediately. His eyes were staring at me with determination, and his entire focus was on me -- as though he were trying to commit this moment to memory. “I like flowers and lace, fancy dresses and comfy sweats, fantasy art and science fiction books, Pokemon and Asian culture and food -- other than Indian Curry. Unfortunately, while I love the taste and could eat it all day, it upsets my stomach majorly.” He nodded, eyes not leaving my face and a smile curling onto his lips. I tried to stifle my own smile, but it was tugging at the corners of my lips. “I like vintage furniture and technology equally, and I like to go to old bookshops and antique shops when I have free time between both of my jobs. I have a wide-range of taste in music, so my playlists are a constantly changing mixture. And I want to live near the forest with lots of dogs, goats, and peacocks when I’m old-,” I paused, “-der.” Stark let out a snort that turned into a prolonged fit of laughter, nodding nonetheless, and making the smile I was trying to force back grow into a grin.

“Why goats and peacocks?” He almost choked out, releasing one of my hands to wipe the amused tears from his eyes. I shrugged nonchalantly, a sense of smug pride enveloping me as I watched my soulmate laugh. 

“Ran into a couple of each while I was working my night job. They were cute but very loud -- definitely blew my cover.” He shook his head in amusement, holding onto my hands once again. “And onto my jobs…,” a frown tugged at my lips as I tried to figure out what to say. Stark waited patiently, pulling me closer to him and tightening his hold on my hands. I looked up at him, running my eyes over his small smile. “I usually go in four times a week for both, and invent or do whatever in my offtime. I’m intending to keep both of them, but I will compromise for holidays, birthdays, dates, anniversaries, and of course, if I get pregnant.” Stark’s face lit up bright red and he almost choked on his saliva, a taken aback stuttering falling from his lips.

“So, you...you want kids?” He licked his lips. “I mean,  _ you want kids _ .” 

“Yes, I do,” I told him with a laugh, running my fingers over his cheekbone. “After we mate, you and I are going to be around for a very long time, and during that time, I would like to have children. I do not mind if they are biological or not.” I was smiling amusedly at him, but he wasn’t feeling the same. He took in a deep breath and nodded jerkily, a hesitant look in his eyes. 

“Okay. Okay, we can do that.” I could see the fear in his eyes at the thought of having a child, and I understood. I already wasn’t a good mother. I gave him a sad smile, moving my hand up to rub it against his overly warm cheekbone. I caught his attention, his eyes seeking my own.

“Not for a while, Stark,” I muttered, a frown tugging at my lips. Flashes of memories flew through my mind, and it made the frown turn deeper. “I did a lot of bad things while in HYDRA’s care, and many bad things were done  _ to  _ me. Some of them have scarred my entire being. I’ve been healing, but it’s taking longer than I would have hoped for.” His body tensed and he tightened his hold on my hands, making me look up at him. His eyes were a swirling mix of gold and brown, and carried an emotion I couldn’t decipher.

“Doesn’t change a thing, Circe.” He brought my hands up to his lips, pressing harsh kisses against my knuckles and palms. “You are my soulmate; I was made for you, and I will give you everything you ask of me.” My heart stuttered in my chest, and a blush overcame my face. It was cute and flattering -- much different from the arrogant Alphas that said Omegas were made for them. Not knowing what to do with myself, I smirked.

“Good. Now, I don’t have to tell you what I’d do to you if you cheated on me.” He blinked at me with surprise and I smiled, grabbing his left hand with my right and pulling him behind me while I rambled. “What would you like for breakfast? I’d have to unpack a few things, but I’m sure I could whip up pancakes or crepes. Do you like things in pancakes or crepes? I’m more of a chocolate pancakes person, but most of the time, I eat them plain.” I let go of his hand once we reached the kitchen.

“Blueberries,” he said gently when I had paused. “But Rhodey and Wilson are making the both of us breakfast, already.” I paused in my movements, processing. Stark sounded sheepish, saying, “Yeah, we switch off every day on who makes breakfast; team bonding and all that. The ones who can’t cook order takeout or something.”

“Aww.” I turned to look at Stark with a pout, holding up my favorite pan. “But  _ I  _ wanted to cook for you.” He released a breathy laugh, grinning at me from where he stood. 

“Tomorrow work for you?” He asked, walking forward and wrapping his arms around my waist. I was slightly disappointed but I nodded anyway.

“Yeah. But I gotta be in the office by seven thirty tomorrow, so you’ll have to be here extra early.” I set my pan down onto the counter as he laughed, feeling his head nod.

“‘Course, gorgeous.” I smiled, pleased, and let him lead me out of the kitchen and towards the elevator. Having a significant other after not having one for sixty-two years felt weird -- but this, I think, is a  _ good  _ weird.

I grabbed a new purifier from the small box placed on top of the counter, quickly putting it in as Stark led us away. I don’t think he noticed, as his phone had vibrated with a message he was currently looking at while we walked. The walk to the elevator felt a bit long, and there was a comfortable silence between us that I didn’t bother ruining. 

“So,” Stark began once the elevator began to move, “what was that about cheating?” I raised an eyebrow and looked over at him. He looked more amused and curious than offended.

“Well,” I began, turning back to the elevator doors, “I get distracted with my work most of the time, and I know  _ some  _ Alpha males have attention-seeking tendencies. After seeing some of the damage a cheating soulmate could do, I just thought it would be good for my soulmate to know that I need a minimum of one kid from him. After the kid is born or adopted, he doesn’t really need his balls, does he?” I looked over at Stark and found him stuck between morbid amusement and awed horror. I gave him a sweet smile. “But you won’t ever cheat on me, so you don’t need to worry about that, will you, Stark?” 

His eyes swirled with gold and brown, a deep growl leaving his lip --  _ almost  _ startling me.

He moved forward, pinning my body to the side of the elevator --  _ definitely  _ startling me. 

**“I would never disappoint you like that, mate,”** the Alpha male growled, his eyes now a full-blown gold. **“And should I ever try, I hope you will knock some sense into me. Painfully. As that is all I would deserve.”** I smiled, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. His eyes switched between gold and brown for a while, but settled on brown in the end. I leaned back, raising an eyebrow at the pleased smirk gracing Stark’s lips.

“Don’t get  _ too  _ cocky, darling; I  _ do  _ know how to castrate.”


	13. "Not That I Can Remember."

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Mornin', Honey Bear."
> 
> "Hey, Grease Lightning. What's up?"
> 
> "Packs are such a waste of time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best remedy for those who are afraid,   
> Lonely or unhappy,  
> Is to go outside,   
> Somewhere where they can be quiet,   
> Alone with the heavens, nature and God.   
> Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be.
> 
> \-- Anne Frank

**Chapter Thirteen: "Not That I Can Remember."**

**Hello, everyone! Thank you for sticking with this story for so long. I apologize that it took me so long to update.**

**I hope this chapter is up to par with you all!**

**Thank you, again!**

The elevator doors opened and I swooped under Stark’s arms, walking briskly out of the elevator, into the hallway, and towards the kitchen I had seen once but could barely remember. The sound of laughter and metal pans being moved around guided me to the kitchen, and the smell of breakfast made my stomach roll. Stark jogged a bit to catch up with me, standing a foot behind me when I walked into the kitchen, most of the Avengers already moving about.

Peter and the twins were sitting on barstools at the island counter, Vision on the other side of Wanda, laughing about something I hadn’t heard. They had pristine plates in front of them, and were dressed in their pajamas -- my eyes zeroing in on Pietro, who was wearing a black tank-top and blue plaid pants. My eyes automatically rolled down his bare arms, cataloguing any scars that were there -- which was a minor one along his arm, fully healed and pale against his tan skin -- along with the muscles that seemed to  _ almost  _ bulge out of his skin. I forced my eyes to the others, watching as Rhodey and Wilson roamed around the kitchen, yelling at the other when they got in the way. A smirk tugged at my lips as I listened to Wilson telling corny jokes that made Rhodey roll his eyes. Dr. Banner, wearing a rumpled violet shirt and black slacks, and another man were sitting at the table with laptops in front of them, talking quietly to each other about their latest scientific experiment.  _ (I didn’t know who the other man was, so I didn’t pay much attention to him.) _

Other than them, no other Avenger was around. 

“Mornin’, Honey Bear,” Stark called, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as he pulled me further into the kitchen and towards the dining table. “Breakfast ready yet?” I felt my Omega bristle at the endearment, but she calmed when Rhodey snorted and turned around.

“Not for you, it isn’t.  _ Circe  _ can have some, though.” Wilson, the twins, and Peter laughed, and I noticed the change of body language with Dr. Banner and Pietro. Dr. Banner had paused in his speaking to his colleague , turning to look at us while straightening his posture. Pietro had straightened, as well, but was shyly averting his eyes from my face and rubbing a hand along his left arm. 

Stark began to bicker with Rhodes, calling him a “traitor” and so forth. Rolling my eyes, I slipped away from him and towards the four sitting at the island, Wilson moving to wash dishes in front of them. I could feel the tension rising from Wanda, Vision, Wilson, and Dr. Banner. Their eyes were on me, watching like hawks, and I was unsure what they were watching  _ for  _ \-- stuck between if I would react to Pietro being my mate, or if I would start something worse with Peter. Stark and Rhodey were still bickering, not noticing what I was doing. 

“Good morning,” I said confidently, holding my hand out to Vision. “Never properly introduced myself. I’m Circe -- no last name. Nice to meet you.” Vision nodded, grasping my hand in his own and shaking it. 

“Vision,” he paused, glancing behind me to Stark. “I do not have a last name, either.” He gave me a polite smile. “I am...glad to see you landed safely. I hope it wasn’t a rough trip.” I laughed, shaking my head in denial as I dropped my hand.

“Nope. Dropped like a meteor, landed like a feather.” He smiled, and I moved onto Wanda, who was more relaxed now that Vision had been alright with me. “Wanda, right? Nice to meet you. Circe.” She nodded, shaking my hand gently in return.

“Thank you for saving my brother, Circe,” she began, her voice quiet and somewhat shy, “ _ again _ .” I laughed, waving my hand after she let go. Her tone was different compared to when we first met at the compound in China.

“Yeah, don’t mention it.” I turned to Pietro, who was slightly pale and very nervous. I could hear Peter whispering words of encouragement, but it didn’t help the older man much. I held out my hand, giving him a gentle smile. “Nice to see you again, Speedy. You good from yesterday?” He placed a shaky, warm hand in mine, the tingles and butterflies starting once again. He took in a deep breath of my scent, and I watched as he relaxed immediately. Slowly, he met my eyes, shaking my hand twice but not letting go.

“Yeah...yeah, I’m good,” he stuttered out, licking his lips nervously. “You?” I let go of his hand, knowing he wasn’t going to do so anytime soon.

“Yeah, I’m good.” I glanced over his shoulder and met Peter’s eyes, winking at the curious boy. “Terrible first mission, but I’m sure your next one will be better.” I looked back to Pietro, who had a curious look in his eye, and nodded towards Wanda. “Stay next to your sister, next time. Or Loki. One of ‘em will catch you.” I winked at him, watching as his face went bright red in a blush, and turned completely to Peter. “Hey, Peter Pan.” I could feel the tension that was growing -- the others watching to see how Peter would react to me. 

I wasn’t worried, though, and neither was Peter as he jumped out of his seat to wrap himself around me like a monkey. He purred happily, rubbing his head into the fabric of my shirt. I laughed, rubbing his back. 

“We're still on for nachos tonight, right?” Peter asked, leaning back and giving me a mischievous smile. I raised an eyebrow, copying his mischievous grin.

“When are we  _ not  _ on for nachos?” Peter preened and moved to sit back on the chair. Stark began rambling to Rhodey once again, having stopped to watch what would happen between the two of us. Peter began rambling to Pietro and Wanda, as well, and it made a smile quirk onto my lips as I compared the similarities between Stark and him in my head. It was cute. I turned to the table where Dr. Banner and his new friend were sitting, both watching me intently. “Doc. Who’s your friend?” 

“Oh,” Dr. Banner began, startled and blushing, “this is my assistant, Dr. Robert Powel; Alpha. He’s been working with me for the past five months on a genetics study. We both tend to work better during the night, so I insisted he come up for breakfast.” I hummed, nodding. I held out my hand to him, watching as the incredibly young doctor brought out his own hand with a tight smile. He was blond-haired, blue-eyed, and had a certain air of charm around him. His teeth were a startling white, and his attire was impeccable, even after spending an entire night in the lab. Dr. Powel would be the first choice young Omegas would go after for a suitable mate, and it would be a plus that he outwardly looked like a nice young man.

“Nice to meet you, ma’am,” he greeted politely, meeting my eyes head-on. He grabbed onto my hand and I felt my stomach curl inward with dread. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up on end, and I felt a swirling mixture of anger and hatred coming from the air around him. I was silent, my eyes refusing to leave his own and my expression unchanging from the polite close-lipped smile. After a moment, I hummed.

“Likewise, Dr. Powel.” I took my hand back and while the dark feeling within me went away, I could still feel the hate swirling around his aura. I turned to Dr. Banner, who didn’t seem to notice the tension between his assistant and myself. “You look tired, Doc. You should take a nap before you go back to the lab.” Dr. Banner gave me a pleased smile, eyes shifting between green, gold, and brown, but Dr. Powel wasn’t pleased. He rolled his eyes and looked back down at his laptop, grabbing Dr. Banner’s attention through a question. 

I moved to sit down at the table, directly across from them, and looked around the room. It seemed as though everyone had gone back to whatever they were doing, but Wanda was watching me with curious eyes, looking between Dr. Powel and me. I gave her a small shrug and pulled out my phone, scrolling through text messages from my team, Wade and Weasel, and Cerberus _ (who was alerting me of nearing people). _

“Ah, Capsicle, Cyborg, you’re back!” Stark cheered, grinning widely. “How was your trip to Jack Frost’s anus?” I looked up and over, snorting with a few others. Rogers and Barnes rolled their eyes, dressed in normal t-shirt and jeans, and moved to sit down on Dr. Powel’s left. Their hair was wet, and I could smell their distinctive soap, so I assumed they took a shower before they came here. Barnes yawned, and I could see the dark circles under both of their eyes. They looked exhausted -- so much so that I doubted they knew they sat next to Bad-Vibe-Powel. 

_ Or maybe they did,  _ I thought to myself,  _ and just can’t sense the darkness around him.  _

“It was fine, Tony,” Rogers muttered, almost falling asleep where he sat. “We’ll talk about it in the debrief later. Fury will be there, this time.” Stark hummed in disappointment but said nothing, roaming around the kitchen to grab giant coffee mugs, filling them with a coffee pot off to the side. 

“Circe up yet?” Barnes asked, putting his head down on his flesh arm. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed. Wilson, Rhodey, and Stark laughed, grinning as they looked between the two sleep-deprived Super Soldiers and myself. Dr. Banner looked on with an amused smile, but Dr. Powel looked exasperated. I looked at the two sleepy-heads and raised an eyebrow.

“I’ve  _ been  _ up, old man,” I snarked lightly, watching as they both sat up straight with eyes snapped open in surprise. Rogers looked at me through bleary eyes, and Barnes gave me a sheepish smile, barely keeping his eyes open. I snorted, rolling my eyes. “Looks like you two need a nap,  _ too _ .”

“Nah,” Stark drawled out, setting the two large coffee mugs in front of them. “They’ll be fine. Just need a couple cups of nitro-espresso-coffee.” The two breathed in the scent of the warm coffee, quickly chugging the drink down and giving Stark thankful nods. Stark rolled his eyes and moved to sit on my right, placing a hand on my right thigh. “Rhodey is almost done. Just gotta wait for the stragglers.” I hummed, nodding. I opened my mouth to reply, but I could hear loud laughter coming from the elevators, grabbing my attention. 

“-is correct, young Darcy. My brother  _ does  _ look like a witch in the mornings!” Thor laughed jovially, coming around the corner with a wide grin, dressed in red Asgardian sleep robes. Dr. Foster and Darcy -- both of whom had changed dramatically since I saw them last -- trailed after Thor, Loki and the two assassins following tiredly. 

Dr. Foster walked briskly up to Rhodey and pulled him into a hug. Her hair was much longer now, pulled back into a ponytail, and she wore modern clothes instead of the grandma attire she wore to the Nobel Prize. Darcy was taller and thinner, and looked to be carrying more muscle -- pros of being with two exercise-lovers like Romanoff and Barton. Darcy followed Dr. Foster into the kitchen, but rushed to get coffee instead of greeting anyone. Barton and Romanoff were on her heels as Thor and Loki moved towards the table.

“Ah, Lady Circe! You are awake,” Thor greeted loudly, placing a hand on my shoulder with Loki standing behind him. They both looked down at me with curious eyes, and I could see Loki looking between Stark and I, his eyes lingering on the hand placed on my thigh. “I hope you had a good night’s rest. How was the drive over here? Not too troublesome, I pray?” I gave them both a small smile, shaking my head.

“It was fine, Thor. Thank you for asking.” I looked over at Loki, nodding. “Good morning, Loki.” He nodded back, sending me a smile.

“Good morning, Lady Circe.” He glanced between Thor and me, looking for something I didn’t know. “Should you need assistance with unpacking your belongings, today, my brother and I would be most pleased to assist.” Thor grew a grin and nodded, agreeing fervently that he would be overjoyed to help out. I gave the both of them a small smile.

“Thank you for offering, Loki. If Pepper and I are in over our heads, I will let you know.” That appeased both males and they nodded, Thor beaming and Loki lost in his mind. 

“Wait,  _ what _ ?” A startled and confused voice asked from behind Thor and Loki. The two demi-gods moved, pivoting to the side to reveal my sitting form to Darcy Lewis, who had a colorful coffee mug in her hand filled with coffee. 

I could see Romanoff filling her own black mug with coffee three feet behind Darcy, who had begun walking towards the table. Barton was leaning against the counter, waiting patiently for Romanoff to finish. Both spies were slightly alert, but not paying attention to how their mate froze when her eyes landed on me. The room was silent, heads moving as the people at the table looked between a pale, almost shaking Darcy, and a calmly sitting me. Like I suspected, the coffee mug slipped out of Darcy’s hands and fell to the floor, the handle and a part of the top breaking off as coffee spilled, just as Darcy whispered,  _ “Circe?” _

_ That  _ grabbed her mates’ attention, Romanoff and Barton snapping their gazes over to a pale Darcy, staring at me. Romanoff’s eyes flashed gold as Barton’s turned blue, the scent of shocked and distressed Omega filling the air.

“Hey, Lewis,” Stark began, feigning nonchalance though his body was tense and eyes were wary, “you good?” Romanoff and Barton were now beside Darcy, but she had broken out of her trance -- well,  _ slightly _ : she was still staring at me, but the distress was now turning into hyperventilating. 

“Hey, Grease Lightning,” I greeted with an amused grin. “What’s up?”

“Holy Thor, it really  _ is  _ you,” Darcy breathed, pushing the hands of her mates away from her, an insane smile slowly growing on her lips. “Oh, my God! This is amazing! How have you been? How long have you been here, and how long are you staying,  _ cause holy crap! _ ” Her voice was slowly growing louder and more excited, words coming out in a squeal and astounding her soulmates into their natural eye color. “Wait, are you  _ moving in _ ?”

“Yeah,” I started, aiming to tell her about it but she gasped, squealing. I saw the Super Soldiers and Demi-Gods flinch at the loud pitch out of the corner of my eye, but they were all relaxed and highly amused -- Thor and Loki moving to sit on the other side of Stark.

“Oh, my God! This is so  _ exciting _ ! Are you gonna get your own lab and everything? What floor is your room on? Can I help you unpack?  _ Oh _ , can I help you in your lab?” Darcy was rambling, stepping over the broken mug and rambling as the others watched the interaction. Romanoff and Barton, both without their daily cup of coffee, stood behind Darcy with annoyed and confused expressions. Darcy gasped again, suddenly tightly gripping my hands. “Did you find your mate yet? I remember we talked about it when we met, but we had just met and all, so of course you wouldn’t tell me  _ everything  _ \-- not that I thought you did, or anything, or blame you if you did not tell me everything, I just was curious and all, but you don’t have to tell me, of course-,” I heard a couple snickers from Peter and Pietro, the entire group growing grins at Darcy’s rambling. Rogers, Barnes, and the demi-gods were no longer tense, and Stark had unclenched his hand around my thigh. Dr. Banner was smiling indulgently at the girl, as though looking fondly at a niece. “Oh, wait, you’re sitting super close to Tony. Aww, is it  _ Tony _ ?”

“Sure is, motor mouth,” Stark joked while I nodded once, his hand squeezing my thigh and sending butterflies to my stomach. I rolled my eyes and gave her an amused wink. 

Darcy put a hand to her heart and “ _ aww _ ”ed while a deep tension grew around the table. I glanced around the room and saw multiple golden eyes glaring at Stark -- both Super Soldiers, Demi-Gods, Pietro, and Dr. Banner carried angered expressions, though they remained silent. I connected eyes with Rogers and raised an eyebrow, wondering if he would be saying anything to dispute it. His jaw was clenched and he looked down at his coffee cup, silently brooding as his partner in crime glared Stark down with fiery eyes. A frown tugged at my lips -- I had hoped that  _ someone  _ would say something to correct it, but they didn’t -- and I turned back to Darcy.

“That is so  _ cute _ ! Aren’t they cute, Clint, Nat?” She didn’t turn around, waiting for their response. Romanoff grunted and rolled her eyes, Barton sighing and moving to get himself an actual mug of coffee now that Darcy wasn’t acting weirdly. Darcy tensed and her eyes narrowed, moving around the room as if suddenly realizing there was a tension. “Actually, now that I think about it,” her tone had changed to something darker, and she looked me in the eyes, taking in my reassurance to continue speaking, “why wasn’t  _ I  _ informed about Circe coming here?” Her voice carried a nonchalant tone, her happy smile unchanging, but only I could see a dark look come into her eyes as thoughts raced. 

“ _ Oo, this is not going to end well _ ,” I stage-whispered, grimacing and moving back an inch into Stark. Darcy and her mates didn’t skip a beat, the Omega not even blinking.

“Cause she’s a bitch,” Romanoff grumbled, sipping her coffee and leaning against the island counter where the early birds were still sitting. Pietro and Peter protested, and Stark growled lowly, rolling his eyes. Barton snorted.

“ _ That’s _ a very big understatement,” he grumbled under his breath. While he most likely thought that Darcy hadn’t heard it, she did, and the eyes connected to my own were narrowing. Her head was going up, her body was tense, and a red flush was coming to her cheeks as thoughts raced. In a normal pitch, he continued, “We held her here for a week, but then we took her on a mission and she left after completely ruining it. Now, she’s moving in.” Darcy’s eyebrows were furrowed, and a dark aura was growing around her. Her narrowed eyes connected to my own never wavered, and the males that had once relaxed were tensing once again. 

“Uh-,” Rogers began, looking between the four of us with a worried look, “-that’s not  _ exactly  _ how it went.” Romanoff growled lowly, Darcy clenching her fists and growing bright red in the face as she pursed her lips shut, tight enough to turn her lips white. 

“Oh, right,” Romanoff sneered, “she ruined the plan and  _ then  _ fell out of the jet, landed completely fine, and came  _ running  _ back oh-so-eagerly.” Barton grunted but didn’t respond, taking a swig of his coffee. I grimaced, watching as Darcy’s eyes turned white with fury, Stark slowly moving to stand with Rogers and Barnes. 

“ _ Sit _ ,” I hissed, placing my hand on his forearm and pulling him back down into his seat -- to which he landed in with a grunt -- without turning to look at him. 

“ _ ‘Held her here.’  _ As in, held her  _ prisoner _ .” Her white eyes left mine and moved to someone behind me, her lips turning into a frown at the confirmation from Thor or Loki. Stark shifted in his seat beside me, and I could tell he was uncomfortable with how this was turning out. I stayed completely silent, waiting for her to blow. “For a week.” Another nod from someone. “I see.” She glanced to the side, connecting eyes with someone else. “Jane. Did you know about this?” 

I finally looked behind me, seeing Rhodey, Wilson, and Dr. Foster had congregated to the table, one stack of empty plates and numerous bowls of rapidly cooling food forgotten in front of them. Jane shook her head, biting her lip and watching Darcy with worried eyes. Thor was standing with his tense arms and hands by his sides, just like Barnes and Rogers. Rhodey and Wilson looked concerned about what was happening, and Loki was watching everything unfold with smug glee -- though he looked as though he could use a bowl of popcorn. Darcy hummed.

“I find it crazy that you know her. How do you know her, anyways, Darce?” Barton asked, confused. Both of her mates did not see the way Darcy flinched back, a look of betrayal and sadness coming over her face. She began releasing a distressed scent, and by the way she was swallowing roughly, I knew she wouldn’t be able to respond. I licked my lips. 

“We met two years ago; talked for almost an entire afternoon. Told me the story about how Jane ran Thor over with her van,” I commented, receiving a scoff from Romanoff, who now had a newspaper in front of her.

“Darcy was broke as fuck when we met last year. How in the hell did a  _ broke  _ college student meet a rich  _ floozy _ ?” Romanoff asked, resulting in numerous loud growls from the Alpha males standing around the room. She rolled her eyes and looked back down at her newspaper, eyes running over it. Darcy was quiet, taking deep breaths to calm herself before she spoke.

“At least this _ rich floozy _ would be a better mate than  _ you  _ two.” 

_ “ _ And  _ there  _ it is, _ ”  _ I muttered with a grimace, putting my hands to my eyes and watching through my fingers. “This isn’t gonna be good.” Romanoff and Barton were frozen, their bodies tense and heads slowly turning around to look at Darcy, faces neutral but eyes shocked. Darcy clenched her jaw, turning to look at them, as well, her eyes white with righteous Omega anger. 

“What did you just say?” Barton asked, taken aback. Darcy narrowed her eyes at the two, and they stood straighter. 

“You know exactly what I said,  _ Barton _ .” He did a sharp intake of breath, eyes switching between the Beta blue and human green, jaw moving but no words being released. Romanoff paled drastically and her eyes clouded with fear and hurt. Darcy didn’t care -- she was on a roll. “Do you two even  _ remember  _ our second date? Because  _ I  _ do.” Barton and Romanoff were tense and pale with terror. “We talked about the ‘heroes’ we had when we were children.  _ You  _ read all of the Captain America comic books when you were a child, and you fell in love with archery because that stupid ring leader said your father was one of the best he’d ever seen,” she gave a pointed look to Barton, and moved to Romanoff, “and you didn’t have one because you were just focused on surviving, but when you were finally free, you told me you began to admire Maria and Coulson because they helped save you. How is it that you can remember each other’s heroes, and I can remember yours, but you can’t be bothered to remember my own -- literally  _ one  _ person with one  _ single name --  _ who I have worshipped for  _ almost six years _ ?” 

“We…I...We just forgot, baby,” Barton pleaded, putting his hands up with furrowed eyebrows. “You...You said a lot of things that night...and we all know you ramble a lot, and we just got off a mission, and-,” I flinched, gritting my teeth and tilting my head as I hissed.

_ “Ooh, wrong choice of words.”  _ Darcy believed my words, as well, and growled loudly.

“ _ ‘Ramble’ _ ?” Barton flinched back at the anger in her voice, looking between a silent and dazed Romanoff and a fuming Darcy. “ _ Wow _ .” 

“Baby, please, I didn’t-,” Darcy raised a hand to silence him. 

“I told you I fucking  _ met her _ ,” Darcy took a menacing step forward, her soulmates flinching back as her face contorted into a snarl, “on our  _ second date _ , and embarrssed  _ the hell  _ out of myself, and you have the  _ audacity,”  _ another step and another flinch back, “to first of all, decide not to remember, and secondly,  _ hold her like a prisoner _ !” She grabbed a plate and threw it at Barton, the man immediately dropping. 

Within seconds, Romanoff was putting her hands up in an effort to placate her, the four sitting at the island were dropping to the floor and rushing towards the table, and Darcy was reaching for another plate, snarling and snapping words at her soulmates. 

“Любовь моя,” Romanoff muttered, her expression open and pleading. A stab of guilt filled me. Romanoff and Barton didn’t know I knew their soulmate, and while they should have remembered that I was her “hero,” they didn’t deserve all this anger, especially in such a public display -- however flattering it may be, the knowledge that they were her mates and her words were hurting them made a sour taste fill my mouth. “He didn’t mean it like that, and this whole...situation is  _ complicated _ .” 

“Complicated?” Darcy echoed, taking in deep breaths to control her enraged Omega. A curious thought of why her Omega was so upset over this waddled through my brain, but I pushed it back. “Complicated,  _ how _ ?”

The whole room seemed to tense, and eyes shifted to Rogers and Stark. Romanoff and Barton were pressing their lips tightly shut. I raised an eyebrow, looking between the two spies and Rogers with confusion.  _ They were keeping the “big secret” from her? _ Darcy looked between her mates and I could see the anger boiling once again. She turned to Jane, my own eyes following, and it became painfully obvious that, other than an annoyed Dr. Powel, Darcy was the only one who was not informed of  _ why  _ I was there.  _ Wow _ .  _ That’s fucked up. _

**“Oh, I** **_see_ ** **.”** Darcy’s pained eyes and scrunched up expression went away, the girl fully retreating into herself and allowing her Omega to take over. Now, her eyes were completely white, stone-faced and cold-eyed.  **“Darcy is not** **_worthy_ ** **enough to know.”**

“Lady Darcy, that’s not at all true!” Thor pleaded, appearing genuinely upset. “The reasons behind Lady Circe being here are simply confidential due to SHIELD orders. We are not allowed to speak of it.” Darcy’s Omega coldly regarded him, her eyes moving to Jane. 

**“And yet Darcy’s** **_former_ ** **boss knows.”** Jane opened her mouth to reply, but Darcy’s Omega raised her hand, shutting Jane down immediately.  **“Odinson-,”** Thor flinched at the sound of his last name, Loki following as the amused smile was now gone and worry glinted in his eyes,  **“-you always were a terrible liar. You should learn a thing or two from your brother.”** She turned to Rogers and Barnes, the two men looking between guilty-looking Barton and Romanoff, and cold Darcy. I had a feeling they ordered the two to keep it from Darcy, never expecting it to come to this.  **“I warned Darcy that having mates loyal to another would only hurt her in the end. It looks like I was right, as always.”** Darcy’s white eyes turned to me, then.  **“It appears Darcy has neither loyal friends nor mates within these walls, therefore she is** **_unwanted_ ** **within the building. As you are the only one she now cares about, Circe, would you like to join us for breakfast?”** I licked my lips and nodded, standing up and moving towards the cold Omega. Stark muttered my name from behind me, but I didn’t reply.

“Darcy, that’s not true,” Romanoff pleaded softly. “Please, don’t do this.” The Omega didn’t look at her mates as she walked out of the kitchen, her hand wrapped tightly around my right forearm. “Darcy! Darcy,  _ please _ !” The Omega pulled me into the elevator, Romanoff and Barton on our heels with Rogers, Barnes, and Stark. I could see the others moving to get into the room, but Thor and Loki were keeping them back to make it a “private affair.” Once we were in the elevator, the Omega finally looked at her mates, a sneer on her face. 

**“Darcy doesn’t want to be around people that cannot trust her. Packs are such a waste of time.”**

~+~+~+~

An hour later, Darcy, Pepper, and I were sitting at the table on my designated floor, plates full of quickly-cooked breakfast foods placed around the table. Darcy’s Omega was still in control, so she was mostly quiet until Pepper arrived, staring the older woman down.

At first, Darcy was insistent that we leave the Tower altogether, but I convinced her to stay on my floor. The mention of Pepper coming over to help me unpack was detrimental in the Omega’s decision to remain in the Tower. I wasn’t sure if it was because she wanted to know if Pepper knew what was up with everything, too, or if she liked Pepper slightly more than the others. I sighed once when I thought about it, staying quiet while I cooked breakfast for the equally silent Omega. 

When Pepper finally arrived, Darcy’s Omega only glanced at her, going back to staring down at her empty pale yellow plate. Pepper’s eyes connected with my own, and I knew that she had gone to the upper levels first before making her way to my floor.

“Good morning, Pepperoni,” I said lightly, giving her a gentle smile. “Glad you could make it. I’m making bacon and cheese omelettes, and chocolate chip pancakes. Along with some cinnamon rolls.” Darcy’s Omega twitched, and I bit my lip. 

While I felt that Darcy was right to be upset over the forgotten information she shared with her soulmates, I knew that it was unfair of her to compare them to me. Mortals like Romanov and Barton were susceptible to forgetting things -- it was human nature. Demi-gods like myself were worse, due to our long lifespans, and often forgot important things. It was why I wrote down a lot of my experiences, and created Cerberus. One of his main functions was to be my listening ears, relaying information to me that I could have forgotten. Because of this, he had a lot of memory storage and knew more than I did, sometimes. 

I  _ knew  _ Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster would be important to me in the future, just like I knew Wade and Weasel would be, too, upon our first meeting. While I occasionally sent flowers for birthdays and holidays to the two females, never failing to notice when they moved locations, I didn’t really keep in contact with them. I knew I would see them later on, but with the worry that I would forget everything about them due to the amount of years that would have to pass, I wrote down everything I could remember about them in separate notebooks, just like Weasel’s and Wade’s, and Chris’, Rocky’s, and Josh’s. Cerberus, of course, had to remind me of certain hobbies, but I picked up on most of what Darcy had told me about in her excitement. 

Knowing I would see them soon, I had read over my notes. And so, it wasn’t fair for her to compare us, as I doubted they had the time to write down everything they knew about their soulmate. Their memory was faulty, just like Jane’s own, my own, and Darcy’s own. I understood that it hurt, but it was to be expected, considering they had been together for a while.

Pepper came and sat down at the table, just as I placed the omelettes on the plates from the pan I held. She thanked me politely, as did Darcy’s Omega, but neither said anything else while I passed out the pancakes, cinnamon rolls, and juice bottles. Slowly, the Omega and Pepper began to eat, and I followed suit in the slightly uncomfortable silence. 

“So,” I began after we were mostly halfway done with breakfast, “is there a name you would like to be called?” Pepper glanced over at me, slightly confused, but Darcy’s Omega did not. Instead, she glared down at her breakfast.

“Lewis is fine,” Darcy’s Omega sniffed. I nodded, sending the Omega a smile.

“Okay,  _ Lewis _ , my name is Circe. And this is Pepper Potts,” I introduced, motioning with my hand to the two of us. Both females were looking at me, now, confused. I raised an eyebrow, but didn’t explain my words and moved on. “I was thinking about unpacking this morning, and I think I would like to do my bedroom by myself. So, let’s start in the library and move from there -- living room, kitchen, maybe then the lab or my office?” Lewis’ eyes flashed back to Darcy Brown for a small second in excitement, but Lewis gained control easily. Pepper looked almost relieved that Darcy had come through to show her approval, but it faded just as quickly. Instead, she was smiling gently and eating her breakfast.

“Tony informed me that they got you the housewarming gifts, but you haven’t opened them yet,” Pepper began, keeping her gentle eyes firmly on me. “Maybe we should do the workshop first? So we know what you have, and then we can place them where you wish?” Lewis tensed as Darcy came through once again.

“No,” Darcy muttered, a frown tugging at her lips as she glared down at her meal. “I didn’t get Circe anything. She has to open mine first.” I snorted, a grin coming to my face. Pepper was smiling wide, a glint of amusement in her eyes as she nodded.

“Alright. I’ll send you the pictures I have, and you can find something you like.” Darcy nodded, her pained eyes showing a hint of appeasement before she faded into the back of her mind, Lewis reigning once again. Pepper nodded to herself and pulled out her phone, quickly tapping away. 

“Make sure Darcy includes you, too, Lewis.” Both Pepper and Lewis looked up at me, either cocking their head in confusion or eyeing me suspiciously. I shrugged. “You two may be sharing one body, but for all intents and purposes, you are two separate beings. It is only right to include the other half of yourself in daily choices.” Lewis stared me down with scrutinizing eyes, as though trying to figure out if I was lying or not. Pepper, on the other hand, was smiling with a proud glint in her eye -- don’t know why she was proud of me, I’m older and wiser, aren’t I?

“That sounds great, Circe. Great idea,” Pepper said happily, turning back to her phone and sending the pictures. Seconds later, Darcy’s phone dinged and Lewis was staring down at her empty plate, hesitant. A few moments passed before she grabbed it and entered the passcode to open it. Pepper, giving her the semblance of privacy, turned to me while sipping her drink. “The library sounds like it will be fun. Did you like the bookcases? Loki and Bruce picked them out.” I looked at her, raising an eyebrow and frowning.  _ They did? _

“I thought Cerberus did. I asked him to get bookcases for my workshop, so I assumed he bought those, too.” I pursed my lips, remembering whose money it actually was and allowing a guilty feeling to swoop over me. Pepper snorted, grabbing my attention. I glanced between the two females, Pepper the only one paying attention to me as Lewis and Darcy merged together to pick out a present, one eye being white and the other a dark brown. Pepper moved to cross her legs under the table, my eyes moving back to her.

“After they saw the pictures, Tony knew you’d need bookcases for the library. When the team realized that you, Loki, and Bruce have similar tastes in style and decoration, it was decided that they would pick out your bookcases.” Pepper smirked, shaking her head and grabbing her phone once again. “Those were what they chose, so Tony had them ordered and shipped within five minutes. Ah, here it is: four extra large, cedar wooden, double bookcase (with ladder), handcrafted in the United Kingdom. Custom ordered so that two would fit along each wall, and all four would reach the ceiling -- which is around twelve feet.” As continued, my body began to tense as my thoughts began to race. 

_ Sounds expensive, _ I worried as I bit my lip. _ Handcrafted and custom ordered must be over five thousand each. I’ll have to pay Stark back somehow. Oh, man, and it’s from overseas! They only had a day to figure out how to custom make those bookcases and get them here. How am I gonna pay him back without him knowing? _ Pepper tapped the table with the palm of her hand, grabbing my attention. I looked up at her, my eyebrows furrowed with worry and my teeth biting harshly into my bottom lip. Pepper gave me a scolding look, pointing a finger at me.

“No pouting. They  _ wanted  _ to buy you those bookcases. And Tony has enough money to buy you five thousand of those -- which he  _ would _ , if you asked.” Her hard expression cracked as she smirked, shaking her head and growing a wider smile. “The grand gestures are just going to get worse, dear.” I snorted at her fake sympathizing voice. 

“ _ Goodie _ ,” I mumbled sarcastically. Darcy/Lewis snorted, both of us turning to look at her with grins. Her eyes were pure brown, now, and she was smiling wider than either of us.

“Nat and Clint bought me a house when we first got together,” Darcy began, her eyes slightly dimming at the thought of her soulmates. She turned to look at me. “We were there for two weeks, completing the mate bond and such.” She huffed a breath, shaking her head as tears filled her eyes. “Only had one date before we mated.  _ God _ . How could I have been so  _ stupid _ ?” Pepper frowned, leaning far over the table to place her hand on Darcy’s own. Darcy looked up at her, face flushed red and tears blurring her eyes. 

“You were never stupid, Darcy.” Pepper’s voice was firm, her eyes narrowed but gentle. “They love you more than anything in the world. Everyone here  _ knows  _ that, without a doubt.” Darcy sniffled, blinking and allowing tears to silently fall down her face. I blinked, shocked into silence. Why did that face suddenly look so  _ familiar _ ? Pepper pursed her lips, frowning. “Darce…,” she trailed off, Darcy looking up at her from her hands. I clenched my fists under the table, trying not to remember a similar situation from years prior -- the memories hazy but very much there. Pepper finally got the courage to continue her words, taking a deep breath and spitting out, “Darce, have you been having doubts?”

The room was silent, except for the sound of Darcy’s sniffling, her eyes flashing white once or twice, Lewis never taking hold. Darcy placed her phone on the table, the homepage opened to a picture of Romanov and Barton smiling at the camera. A sob tore from her lips as she nodded vigorously. Pepper moved to stand, the frown deepening as regret filled her eyes. My Omega growled under my skin and I sighed, standing and moving around the table to Darcy’s side. Putting my arms under her legs and behind her back, I swiftly picked her up off the chair and took her over to the bland, white couch that I was not fond of. 

Sitting down, I maneuvered her around so that her upper body would rest against my front, her head in the crook of my neck and my hand on her back. Leaning back slightly against the arm of the sofa, I rubbed her back as she cried into my shoulder, our legs slightly intertwined. Pepper moved around the kitchen, grabbing a tub of chocolate ice cream she remembered I had, digging through the boxes for a clean spoon. Once she found it, she moved to sit on the coffee table beside us, setting the items beside her so that she could reach forward and hold Darcy’s hand. I hummed lowly, rubbing the girl’s back as I wondered about what I should be saying. 

_ Should I tell her that everything would be okay? That her soulmates truly loved her?  _ My lips thinned tightly, and my eyebrows furrowed. _ I could offer that I could beat them up? Or egg their respective cars -- slash their tires?  _ I looked up at Pepper, noticing her own dazed, thoughtful frown. We connected eyes and I gave her a helpless look. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head. I moved my hand up to run it through her messy hair, pressing my cheek to her temple. Pepper moved her hand up to rub the girl’s back.

We sat there for an hour, letting the girl cry it out. Pepper offered her support and ruin of her soulmates, but I only hummed, hesitant to say anything that would upset her. When Darcy finished crying, she moved herself around in my arms, resting her head in my chest and facing Pepper while eating her ice cream. Her eyes were rimmed with red, with her nose and cheeks matching. She sniffled once in a while, but mostly rambled about how she was feeling while stabbing the spoon at the soft ice cream. 

“It’s always the two of them,” Darcy said sadly, putting a spoonful of chocolate ice cream in her mouth. “I’m always the one left here when they go out on missions, and when they come home, they  _ never  _ tell me about it.” She sniffled. “I get it -- they keep me in the dark because I’m a civilian, and anything I know could jeopardize their hard work. And they’ve known each other longer than I have;  _ been  _ with each other longer than I have. Of course I would be the outsider; I always am.” She stabbed the ice cream harshly, her eyes dark black as she thought about something from the past. “I don’t know anything about the science Tony, Bruce, and  _ Jane  _ do. They expect me to know everything, and ask me questions that I can’t answer. I always feel so  _ stupid _ , and I know they don’t mean to make me feel that way. I used to be first in Jane’s life -- the first person she turned to for support. But then it became Thor, and now it’s Rhodes, and now, I feel so alone that I don’t know what to do.” She choked slightly on the ice cream in her mouth, my hand automatically going to her back to pat it. Once she was okay, she looked up at me with teary eyes -- eyes that reminded me so much of -- “I feel so  _ alone _ , Circe.” I flinched, the face of another’s eyes popping into my mind. I frowned and pulled her close to my chest, kissing her forehead as Pepper grabbed the ice cream tub and spoon. 

“You’re not alone, Darcy,” I muttered, rubbing her back as Darcy wrapped her arms around me. “You just haven’t found your own people, yet.” I went silent, hesitating on what I wanted to say. “You look like a girl I knew a long time ago. She was scared and alone, too. But you know what she did?” I pulled Darcy away from my chest so I could look into her dark eyes, rubbing my thumbs under them to get rid of the tear tracks. “She took control of her life. She got on her feet, surrounded herself in good people and good adventures, and became one of the strongest women I knew.” I paused, my lips twitching up with a small smile as I recalled some happy memories. “I even got her a plant. She named it Leia, after Princess Leia.” Darcy smiled, her eyes lighting up with amusement. “I think you need a plant, too.”

“I don’t exactly have a green thumb,” she muttered sheepishly, sniffling and moving to sit up. I grinned, shrugging.

“Cacti don’t need a lot of water. And they’re pretty cute.” Darcy laughed, nodding her head in agreement. Pepper was smiling wide, eyeing her with relief. I ran a hand through Darcy’s hair, eyeing her silently with a small smile. Her eyes were the same brown, and her hair the same amount of annoyingly curly. Her smile and nose were the same, but her face was angled like someone else’s. Her spirit was slightly different, but it held the same spark that reached her eyes. 

“Circe?” Darcy asked, grabbing my attention. I blinked, ceasing my movements only for a moment. She looked at me with wonder in her eyes. “My Omega,  _ Lewis _ , likes you. You…,” she trailed off, cocking her head as she communicated with Lewis inwardly, “feel  _ familiar _ , somehow.” I gave her a grimace-like smile, shrugging. “Have we...met before? Before the Science Expo two years ago?” I was silent, taking in a deep breath to calm myself.

“Not that I can remember, Darce.”  _ Not that I can remember. _


End file.
